Deputy President William Ruto insists that plans to merge several parties allied to Jubilee government to form a formidable outfit ahead of 2017 elections are intact.
The idea of amalgamating the parties to form Jubilee Alliance Party has been facing stiff resistance from a section of government legislators from Ruto’s Rift Valley political bedrock.
But speaking on Sunday during a fundraiser as Itierio, the DP said the government would not abandon the idea and challenged rebels to join hands and support the idea.
“Formation of JAP is unstoppable. We need to unite our country and that can be done if we integrate small parties allied with the government to form a formidable outfit,” Ruto said.
“I wish to challenge those who still doubt our objective of uniting this nation to drop their resistance and support the new party," added the Dp.
"As your principals, we have agreed to support the idea, therefore, the Jubilee party is there to stay,” he said.
He said Kenya was struggling to fight tribalism due to the formation of numerous parties with a political base in certain tribes.
“If we are all serious to unite Kenyans, the most honest thing we can do is to do away with parties that propagate tribal affairs," said Ruto.
"The only way we can combat tribalism is by forming a single party that brings together many communities. As JAP, that’s our plan and no one can stop it,” he added.
Ruto also defended the appointments made by Jubilee government saying the government reflects the face of the country.
“I sometimes wonder why those noisemakers keep on accusing our government of tribalism,"said Ruto.
"I think every community is represented in government and that’s our duty as its leadership to ensure no region is discriminated,” he said.