Coalition successes plenty, says Kibaki
President Kibaki on Monday enumerated the achievements of his government during Monday’s Jamhuri Day celebrations as he prepared to leave office after next year’s General Elections.
The head of State said despite the many challenges experienced including inflation the country had witnessed significant progress in national development.
“The government is now able to fund most of its budget. Annual economic growth jumped from less than one percent in the year 2002 to about five percent projected for this year,” he said.
President Kibaki said there has been progressive increase in revenue collection over the years from Sh200 billion in 2002 to Sh600 billion in the last financial year.
This has provided resources needed to embark on the nation’s most ambitious development agenda since independence, he said, adding that various sectors of the economy have recorded positive growth.
President Kibaki said from less than 500,000 electricity connections 10 years ago, over 1.7 million households and institutions now have electricity.
He noted that the financial sector has recorded impressive growth with 18 million Kenyans accessing banking services compared to a million 10 years ago
Mr Kibaki talked of increased investments in the modernisation and development of infrastructure such as roads, airports, railways, energy and telecommunications.
In the roads sub-sector, there has been tremendous growth in funding from both the government and development partners from a budget of Sh13 billion in 2003 to over Sh110 billion in funding in the current financial year.
In information communication technology, he said the fibre-optic cable linked Kenya to the global network and provided a reliable and affordable high capacity bandwidth translating to more jobs and ICT investments.
The President noted that the tourism sector recorded remarkable growth with last year being the best in terms of tourist arrivals. One and a half million visitors were received and the sector generated Sh74 billion in revenue.
