Kibaki outlines his successes

President Kibaki on Wednesday used the last Jamhuri Day celebrations of his rule to outline his government’s main achievements and declare that the country was now on a good footing to attain newly industrialised status by 2030.

Presiding over his last National Day celebration as President, he enumerated better and improved roads, sustained economic growth, introduction of free primary schooling and expansion in university education as some of the achievements that had placed Kenya in the development take-off stage.

In academics, take-off is one of the final stages towards a country transforming into a developed country. The next stage of high mass consumption qualifies a country to be branded developed.

Looking back with pride

“As a nation, we can now confidently say that the foundation to move our country into a middle income economy by 2030 has firmly been laid,” declared the President at Nyayo Stadium.

President Kibaki looked back at his 10-year reign with pride, satisfied that he had achieved most of his goals.

According to him, Kenya is now on the edge of a ‘take-off’ to greater prosperity, equity and unity.

And with the March 4, 2013 General Election just around the corner, President Kibaki appealed to Kenyans to only elect ‘honest, visionary and hardworking leaders’ with the ability of bringing development to the people – just the way he had done.

This, he said, would only be achieved when Kenyans register as voters — an exercise that ends on December 18, and participate in the elections.

“The journey towards the transformation of our country has begun…we must not turn back. We must keep our eye on the goal of building a great Kenya for us, our children and the future generations.”

Wednesday’s event that was attended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and a host of other senior government officials, also marked the start of the country’s Jubilee year.

This will culminate in the celebrations of 50 years of independence in December next year.

On Wednesday, President Kibaki revealed that the most memorable moment of his reign was the promulgation of the new Constitution, which he added, will now transform the way Kenya is governed.

When he took over the Presidency in 2002, he said, he promised to make Kenya a prosperous and working nation, where nation-building was a responsibility for all and not the government alone, a feat that had been achieved, despite numerous challenges.

This, he said, would be guided by two major blue prints – the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation, as well as Vision 2030.

Under his leadership, the President said poverty levels reduced from 56 per cent to 46 per cent, with the levels of food security improving.

The agricultural sector, which is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, also registered improvements from negative three per cent when he took over to six per cent now.

The country, he said, also witnessed an unprecedented boom in infrastructure development, including new roads and revamped railways. This, he said, will increase trade and production for the country’s businesses.

He praised Kenyans for heeding his plea for them to pay taxes, saying this had immensely helped development efforts. In the past 10 years, Kenya, he said, had increased its tax revenues to more than Sh700 billion.

“We are now able to fund more than 95 per cent of our government budget from local sources. This economic independence is a key achievement that Kenyans should be proud of.”

He also lauded the strides the country has made in the Information Communication and Technology front, where currently, more than 30 million Kenyans have mobile phones. The country also boasts 19 television and more than 80 radio stations from just a handful when he took over.

Improvements, he said, were also noted in the education and health sectors.

The reforms going on in the security sector will enhance their capacity to provide swift and adequate services to Kenyans. The president warned criminals that they would be dealt with accordingly.

‘‘We will not let a few individuals distract our nation from our goal of living in a peaceful and harmonious environment,” he said.

Mr Odinga echoed the President’s call to Kenyans who had not registered as voters to do so.

‘’For us to realise our aspirations and the promises that stand before us, we all need to register as voters to elect a credible, focused and committed leadership that will implement the Constitution in letter and spirit,’ he said.

And citing the biblical book of Leviticus 25, he stated that the celebrations, which marked the beginning of the Jubilee, was a time for renewal, revival and restoration, and came with special responsibilities for a nation and its citizens.

“In that year, those who were held in slavery are set free, what was stolen is returned to the rightful owners, we are mandated to deal in fairness and honesty with fellow citizens in all transactions’’.

He said that the grand coalition government had delivered on many promises despite facing many challenges.

Mr Musyoka also called on Kenyans to vote wisely during next year’s elections and choose nationalists over those propagating ethnicity.