1

Delivering Change in Kenya

INTRODUCTION

So many promises have been made, fine blueprints drawn, impressive

action plans, visions and roadmaps published, all of which have been met

with very little or no action whatsoever. Kenya is not short of ideas.

Government has never lacked the guidance of visionary notions. What

has been missing is the right combination of bold ambition and

conscientious execution that is required to translate ideas, promises,

plans, blue prints, visions and roadmaps into results that improve

citizens’ lives.

Throughout my career in leadership, I have done my utmost, often in

difficult circumstances, to match my undertakings to the people with

actual delivery of results. If leadership and high office is a public trust, it

follows that a failure to fulfil any promise constitutes an abuse of trust.

Just as the shortest distance between two places is the straight line joining

them, the best way to solve problems is simple, direct ACTION:

implementation and execution.

In Jubilee, I join patriots whose vision for Kenya transcends partisanship,

tribe, creed and race. I am at home with servants of the people whose

courage, passion, vision and energy is committed to national service ONE

HUNDRED PER CENT. We are totally committed to the vision of a

prosperous, just, secure and modern country. Therefore, we are

completely invested in the total implementation of the Constitution, full

execution of Vision 2030, national reconciliation, unity, peace and

stability,and the complete realisation of every citizen's aspirations.

2

When the TNA proclaimed 'I Believe', we heard them, loud and clear. It

is manifest that the vision for a fulfilled Kenyan dream is an article of

faith, and an aspiration worthy of anyone's life and labour. When we at

URP say 'Kusema na Kutenda', we do not hesitate, stammer or whisper,

because we have confidence that Jubilee is neither short on vision, energy

or execution. Scripture condemns faith without action as empty noise. We

in Jubilee agree.

I therefore want to highlight a few proposals that the Jubilee Coalition

has set out in order to demonstrate that our manifesto is not a 'pie-in-the-

sky' proposition, but an actual demonstrable, feasible programme for

national transformation that can and will be achieved in the time, with the

resources and by the people that we have here in Kenya.

I submit to you, dear brothers and sisters, that Jubilee is the right

leadership to steer our country for the next five years and beyond not only

because it has the vision and the energy, but also these two reasons:First,

we are on a path of transformation – transforming Kenya through new

leadership that is inclusive, founded on merit, performance based,

results- oriented and focused on the public good. A leadership which will

match what is said with what gets done.

Secondly, the Jubilee leadership seeks to unleash the full potential of the

Kenyan people because 50 years after independence our country should

be self- reliant. We will achieve this by addressing the fundamental issues

of youth empowerment, security and devolution.

3

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT:

The youth are our strength, our wealth and the drivers of innovation. We

will make a deliberate and systematic effort to appropriately equip and

empower the youth of Kenya to attain and realize their full potential.

High unemployment remains one of the greatest challenges facing our

country. Currently, 70% of unemployed people in Kenya are youth.

Because the education system in Kenya is not geared towards market

demand, 92% of unemployed youth have some form of formal education

but do not posses any relevant skills.

In order to tap their immense potential, harness their talent, knowledge,

expertise and energy, the Jubilee government will:

Re-engineer education;

We will put premium on technical education and training by emphasizing

its importance to economic development and wealth creation.To begin

with, in the first six months, we will undertake a national audit of skills

and competencies and align training opportunities and resources to

respond to national and county human resource demands. Alongside this,

we will develop a framework for identifying children’s inborn abilities

and talents and align these with early childhood education and future

professional training. To empower youth with effective and relevant

skills required to service a modern economy, we will establish Institutes

of Technolog in every County Ward throughout Kenya. Basic vocational

skills at these institutions will be offered free of charge.

4

Sports Development

We salute our men and women who have been an outstanding, consistent

credit to our nation. It is time that this country made an entry on the other

side of the ledger by facilitating youth to express themselves and earn a

living pursuing the sports that they love. The Jubilee government will

introduce multi-disciplinary sports education in learning institutions and

promote the establishment of local and international linkage. In addition,

we will develop National Sports Academies and facilities to encourage

the diversification and commercialization of sports so as to harness the

full potential of Kenya’s exceptional and varied sporting talent.

Furthermore, the Jubilee government will establish 5 stadiums to

international standards spread across the country and set up sporting

facilities in every County.

Youth Capital:

Our government will give young people the support needed to do

business and be self reliant. This will end the culture of handouts, which

has trapped our youth in poverty and violence. To achieve this, the

Jubilee government will allocate 2.5% of national revenue annually

towards establishing a Youth Enterprise Capital Fund administered along

the CDF model to enable youth access interest free credit either

individually or in groups without the requirement of traditional collateral

and securities. Moreover, we will enhance youth-specific affirmative

action on Government procurement to 30% so as to mainstream the

participation of youth-run enterprises in economic development. We will

also develop and promote a comprehensive policy on internship

(industrial training) for all college students requiring practical training,

with built in incentives for industry actors.

5

Nurture Creative Talent:Arts and Culture

The Arts and Culture sector has been severely neglected yet it is one of

the most vibrant sectors of modern economies. For instance, a significant

portion of the US GDP is derived from sports and entertainment. Closer

home, in less than two decades, Nigeria has nurtured a multibillion dollar

film industry known as Nollywood, and its musical and literary garden is

blooming. The Jubilee government will place earnings from cultural and

creative arts in the top ten GDP generators. To do this, we will identify,

nurture and reward talent right from a child’s formative stages of life into

adulthood. We will strengthen the existing intellectual property

framework to enforce the copyright laws and ensure that our artists and

creative workers receive their appropriate financial returns and are not

exploited. Innovation centers will be established to support the emerging

generation of highly creative Kenyans while the ministries of Education

and Culture will develop mechanisms for tracking student talent so that

showcases like the Drama and Music festivals cease to be one-off

glimmers of hope, but become platforms for launching world-beating

artistic talent.

SECURITY:

Kenya is endowed with vast natural resources and dynamic, enterprising

and innovative human capital which is necessary to expand our food

production, catalyze our enterprise, energize our industry, innovate and

expand our tourism, upgrade our technology, modernize our

infrastructure and transform our social welfare.

6

Insecurity, hunger and poverty continue to undermine our socio-

economic development and political stability. It has affected our lives and

our businesses and damaged our reputation internationally.

Unlike others, we are not so careless as to heap all blame for our poor

security situation on the police and security forces who work hard under

extremely difficult conditions and pressure. Many of them have made the

ultimate sacrifice to protect fellow Kenyans. We owe them a debt of

gratitude. For this reason, the Jubilee Coalition salutes all the gallant

officers serving in our security services.

The first duty of any government is to keep its people, their property,

children and investments safe. Violent crime, ethnic tension, conflict and

terrorist attacks have spread fear and concern throughout our

communities and created doubt over the government’s ability to deliver

on this most basic of duties. In order to deliver on this fundamental

pledge, the Jubilee government will promote social ethics and family

values of honesty, hard work and responsibility so as to weaken roots of

crime and foster harmony through social justice, fairness and equitable

distribution of resources. Equally critically, we will increase the police-

citizen ratio from 1 officer per 1150 citizens to a ratio of 1 officer per 800

citizens within five years and enhance police efficiency by providing

modern security equipment including at least two police vehicles in every

county ward. Research has shown that two officers in a police car can do

more than ten such officers on foot. We will also promote the culture of

multi-tasking in the security sector by establishing functional linkages

through training and command structure of the various disciplines of the

security forces to create synergy, efficacy and cooperation so as to

optimise on their respective capacities.Security personnel are deserve the

7

benefits and amenities enjoyed by other public servants. In recognition of

this, the Jubilee government will therefore provide government-funded

life insurance cover for security personnel to secure their livelihoods and

that of their families. We will also rationalise security budgets and

subject procurement of security equipment and services to public scrutiny

and competitive bidding so as to promote transparency, eliminate waste

and guarantee quality and value for public funds. 'Mega' security

contracts will be subjected to the scrutiny of relevant parliamentary

committee. We will tackle the problem of stock theft using the latest

tracking technology. Finally, to reduce crime levels, and deter antisocial

behaviour, we will expand the coverage of CCTV cameras in our cities

and towns and along all major highways.

Ladies and gentlemen, with the available arable land, and using modern

agriculture methods, Kenya’s food security will be assured. A Jubilee

government will ensure that Kenya becomes not only food-sufficient, but

also a net exporter. The use of oxen and Jembes will be replaced by

mechanized agricultural equipment, including tractors, driers, planters

and harvesters, to increase efficiency in food production. We will invest

in certified seed and fertiliser subsidy programme to reduce the cost of

food production while increasing investment in value addition to increase

returns to farmers and enhance the quality of products available to

consumers. In order to increase land under agricultural production, a

Jubilee government shall, within five years, put at least 1 million acres

under modern irrigation, and create a framework to bring the 2.5 million

acres currently uncultivated into productive use. In addition, within two

years, we will initiate and implement a public-private partnership

insurance scheme to cushion livestock and crop farmers from risks

including disasters and effects of climate change. At the same time, we

8

will reduce the cost of credit by at least 50% of the commercial rate to

crop and livestock farmers and improve access through consolidating,

rationalising and capitalising agricultural and livestock sector financial

institutions (especially AFC & ADC).At the County level, the Jubilee

government will initiate and support a framework for value addition

through processing of livestock and agricultural products at source to

maximise returns to farmers. We will also double and diversify our

national strategic food reserves from the current 22% to 40% of annual

consumption and match this by doubling the agriculture sector budget

from the current 5.3% to at least 10% recommended under the Maputo

Declaration to attain food surplus. We must invest in our commitment to

a science-based, technology-driven production economy by tripling the

budgetary allocation to scientific research and information and creating a

framework for technology transfer to enhance agricultural productivity.

Finally, the Jubilee government will underscore these undertakings by

providing the necessary infrastructure to support commercial agriculture

and livestock production, including green houses, dams, silos,

warehouses and coolers throughout the country.

DEVOLUTION

I believe, and it bears repetition, that a Jubilee government will ensure the

full implementation of the Constitution. Similarly, the Jubilee Coalition is

FULLY committed to effective devolution of power and resources. We

believe that devolution is the appropriate response to high inequality,

exclusion and limited or non-existent public involvement in decision-

making. Any meaningful and sustained development of our beloved

country must tap into the collective potential of our talents, expertise,

9

knowledge, enterprise and energy. The solution lies in effective, robust

and sustained devolution.

In order to fully realize equitable economic development, we pledge as

follows:

Jubilee recognises that devolution may be undermined unless there are

commensurate resources made available to County governments. We will

continuously review and increase resources available to Counties to make

them viable and capable of delivering on their mandates. Jubilee will

further ensure that the Equalization Fund is immediately channeled

through conditional grants to County governments towards the

development of marginalized and underdeveloped regions. We believe

that County governments are best suited to identify critical needs of

marginalized areas within their jurisdiction. Moreover, it will be

imperative to establish a Loans and Grants Council to ensure that national

loans and grants designated for development are shared

equitably.Through deliberate and specific capacity building mechanisms

and resource allocations, the Jubilee government will ensure that within 1

year; all county governments will have taken over their full constitutional

responsibilities. We will work closely with Parliament to create structures

that will facilitate direct scrutiny and audit of County and National

governments’ programmes, investment and projects at the grassroots to

enhance transparency and strengthen citizen participation. A benefit

sharing framework to ensure that local communities benefit from national

resources in their locality will also be instituted. Finally, in order to

merge economic development with national cohesion, the Jubilee

government will transform Regional Development Authorities (currently

operating under the Ministry of Regional Development) into Inter-County

10

Corporations to be used as vehicles for joint county development

projects.

CONCLUSION

There is a time for everything: a time to talk and a time to act. A time to

dream and a time to work. The promise of 'Uhuru' has been deferred for

far too long. It can no longer wait! To translate that promise into tangible

benefit, action is required: action that will pool together the immense

potential and energy of the people of Kenya into a transformative force

and forge unity, prosperity and happiness. Although Jubilee cannot boast

long years in government, each of us can confidently point to solid

achievements during our brief stints. We are not in the business of trading

excuses and accusations. God has been especially kind to Kenya, offering

us another opportunity to get it right under a dispensation that guarantees

equity, democracy and development. We cannot squander such an

opportunity. The time to act is NOW in the Jubilee year by the Jubilee

generation and in the Jubilee election! We will realize our collective

future promise by promise, in steady steps, from March 4th. The future of

this country is in your hands. Team up with Jubilee, and make it happen.

Together we shall rise up at dawn, work with all our hearts, all day,

every day, until every pledge is fully discharged. You have seen us

deliver before; you can trust us with the future.

God bless you.

God bless Kenya.