President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday strongly advocated for national values as he outlined his government’s achievements, called on Kenyans to embrace unity and support his government. In his one-and-a-half hours third State of the Nation address, the President said his government had made tremendous progress in uplifting the lives of Kenyans through various nation-building programmes, including healthcare, education and infrastructure.
Uhuru also tabled a report on the achievements that his government had made in fighting corruption, the cases currently being pursued along with a statement on recovery of assets fraudulently acquired. Yesterday’s address was attended by Kenyans from various backgrounds including 18 Cabinet secretaries, service commanders, diplomats and other dignitaries. Over 314 MPs from the National Assembly and the Senate were also in attendance.
The occasion ran into a storm as a group of about 10 ODM MPs tried to scuttle the speech by blowing whistles and heckling. The situation was, however, contained when National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi kicked the group out of the Chamber. The President opened his speech by calling on Kenyans to protect the prevailing peace and unity and to avoid slipping back to situations like the 2007/08 post-election chaos.
He also called on the Opposition to play their role responsibly by offering alternative solutions, reminding them they are part of the national covenant that binds together the nation. “This unity of intent is our lowest common denominator as a people. It defines us, our nationhood, and our diversity as Kenyans.
To aggress it is to harm yourself because it is part of you. However, our Opposition should be reminded that they are the alternative side of the nationalist covenant. They are part of it, and are bound by it through normative law,” said Uhuru. “In their undertakings, therefore, they must remain true to the commonwealth of all.
This way, we can go through election cycles without worrying whether the gains of one administration can be destroyed rather built on by the in-coming one,” he added. Uhuru also used the occasion to call on Members to observe a minute of silence in honour of Kenyan soldiers who fell in the line of duty in Somalia. He also committed to uphold citizen liberties but emphasised this should come with responsibility.
“New-found liberties have a way of promoting reckless abandon. As you enjoy the liberties, we must remain true to the spirit of our nationhood. We must criticise, then give alternatives; build bridges between divides, instead of digging trenches,” he intoned, seeming to refer to recent debate in the media kicked off by a commentator in a local daily last weekend who called for balknisation of Kenya.
On economy, the President remained optimistic saying Kenya’s remains the most resilient in the region. “I am glad that the macro-economic foundations of Kenya are strong and sustainable. Our real GDP grew by 5.8 per cent in 2015 and we expect it to hit six per cent over the next 12 months. Inflation has remained under control and our foreign exchange reserves have improved significantly.
My administration is investing not only in the immediate improvement of Kenyans’ lives but also in laying the future for true prosperity,” said the President. He cited the continued recovery of the tourism sector despite several terror attacks as a sign of good prospects ahead. The president also outlined several infrastructural projects.
These include the Standard Gauge Railway, modernising the existing metre-gauge railway line across the country — covering Voi, Taveta, Thika, Nanyuki, Nakuru, Eldoret, Bungoma, Kericho and Kitale and tarmacking about 3,000 kilometres of road in the last three years. “By 2017, we will have laid in three years almost as much tarmac as happened in the first 50 years since Independence. We are also rehabilitating existing roads” said Uhuru.
The President said in the last one year the government had loaded 634 MW of new power into the national grid, raising the total installed capacity to 2,282 MW. “We have connected an additional 1.2 million Kenyans to electricity in their homes and places of work. My government’s street lighting initiative will have completed the installation of 26,000 new street lights across five counties by mid-2016.
We have extended this programme to another 50 towns across the country,” he said. On devolution, he said, while up to one trillion shillings would have been disbursed to county governments as of financial year 2016/17, Kenyans are yet to see the fruits of devolution due to lack of accountability.
“We see conspicuous consumption, self-aggrandisement and wastefulness. In some cases, we have seen fleets of vehicles and palaces being acquired to benefit administrators and officials. We have not seen enough of these hard-earned resources being utilised to provide concrete benefits to the people,” said Uhuru. On corruption, the President challenged the Judiciary to conclude cases pending before courts.
“It is crucial that the Judiciary reduces and eliminates the frivolous exploitation of legal technicalities to defeat the course of justice,” he said, adding that 360 cases were in courts, most of them involving senior government officials, adding that efforts to address the vice are bearing fruit. “This is demonstrated by the recent quick tracing and seizure of 400 million shillings of assets acquired through stolen National Youth Service funds.
There has also been progress in the Jersey and Anglo-Leasing cases,” he added. Uhuru said healthcare and education remain priorities in his government, citing the free maternity programme and the connection to electricity to more than 22,000 primary schools. Other benefits, he said include creating jobs for youth and improving security.
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