Coast seeks ways to boost growth

• Leaders and local experts agree that region has not tapped potential

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said that the Grand Coalition Government has implemented changes to accelerate economic growth which previous governments had failed to achieve.

He told a dinner party that the development blueprint the government had adopted under the Vision 2030 made the envisaged Kenyan dream more tenable than ever.

The PM said the current administration was determined to adopt a fresh approach and repackage the development agenda to ensure that the targeted rate of economic growth was attained.

“We want to close the old chapter and make a fresh start on how we handle our development issues and bring the country on the right track,” he said.

Mr Odinga told guests during the occasion at a Mombasa hotel on Monday that change was inevitable if tangible progress was to be realised noting that there was “nothing as powerful as an idea whose time had come”.

He likened the fresh development impetus to a plane taxiing along the runway and rearing to take flight and insisted that the country must get it right this time round.

The dinner, attended by the business community and members of Parliament from Coast Province, was organised to award personalities who made commendable contributions to the country.

Mr Odinga, who was the chief guest, received an award for championing a just Kenyan society which at some time put him on a collision course with authorities, leading to detentions.

During the investment conference on Monday, land, infrastructure and access to credit took centre stage, with participants calling for concerted efforts to help develop the area economically.

Conference chairman Fred Mweni said that even with huge marine, agriculture, mineral, livestock and tourism resources, the region contributed only Sh5 billion of the GDP against a potential of Sh60 billion.

The main aim of the conference was to bring together existing and potential investors, local leaders and local communities to look at the various investment opportunities in the area, said Mr Mweni.

A land economist at the University of Nairobi, Dr Mohamed Swazuri, said the region would benefit greatly with the implementation of the national land policy.

“We need to take advantage of this policy which empowers local communities to own land which could be used as collateral to acquire loans for development,” he said.

Religious leader Sheikh Juma Ngao of the Kenya National Muslim Advocacy Council said the conference should target small-scale businesses which could be developed into bigger enterprises through credit.

“Our people have to wake up to the reality that Vision 2030 will not come on a silver platter, but through sheer hard work. We must develop a culture of saving and borrowing to grow businesses as is happening in other parts of the country,” said Sheikh Ngao.