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Mwai Kibaki was elected president in December 2002 and was re-elected for a second and final term in December 2007.

Kenya

Infrastructure is Kibaki’s legacy – poll

Mwai Kibaki was elected president in December 2002 and was re-elected for a second and final term in December 2007.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 23 – President Mwai Kibaki will be remembered most by Kenyans for infrastructure development according to a new poll by Infotrak Research and Consulting released on Friday.

According to the poll, 26.6 percent of Kenyans will remember the president for infrastructure development, while another 24 percent will associate his presidency with introducing free primary education.

Twenty one percent of Kenyans will remember the president for having delivered a new Constitution, according to Infotrack CEO Angela Ambitho.

“He has been in power for the last 10 years and Kenya has undergone various social, political and economic experiences; but on the overall Kenyans aged above 18 remember the president for same reasons,” Ambitho said.

President Kibaki’s legacy in infrastructure is highly appreciated in Nairobi (55 percent) and Central (46 percent) whilst free primary education is appreciated more at the Coast (46 percent). The new constitution as a legacy is much more appreciated in North Eastern at 53 percent.

The other things the youths mentioned they will remember President Kibaki for were economic growth, peace and stability, the coalition government food security, corruption and eradication although all these recorded ratings below five percent.

The most visible of all the projects that the president will be remembered for is the Sh31 billion Thika superhighway that was commissioned early this month after its construction started in January 2009.

Twenty one percent of Kenyans will remember the president for having delivered a new Constitution

In July the president commissioned the Olkaria 280 MegaWatt (MW) geothermal project which is expected to raise Kenya Electricity Generating Company’s (KenGen) total electricity capacity by 25 percent.

Under president Kibaki, the government has set in motion development of Lamu corridor projects, whose implementation is expected to change the economic face of northern Kenya.

The poll conducted between the October 29 and November 1 showed that insecurity and unemployment remained the most pressing issues among the Kenyan population at 23 percent and 21 percent respectively.

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Among the youth, unemployment ranks slightly higher than insecurity in the list of priorities for government recording 23.6 percent to 23.2 percent.

Ambitho attributes the slight differentials in the priority areas for the youth and the general population to inculcation of values and belief by the older generation.

“I ask myself if the youth think differently from the rest of adults. Perhaps not, maybe because we have inculcated in them the values that we have; if we hold the value that tribe is the most critical to us, it is not honest to expect them to have different values,” she explained.

A sample of 1,500 respondents was interviewed with 983 of them aged between 18 and 35 years.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga remains the most preferred presidential candidate among the youth with 34 percent saying that they would vote for him.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto follow in second and third position with 25 percent and 9.8 percent respectively.

A sample of 1,500 respondents was interviewed with 983 of them aged between 18 and 35 years.

The premier is again the first amongst the youth, 41 percent of who believe that he is the best bet to implement the constitution, enhance national security (37 percent) and continue with the infrastructure development.

The youth also place Odinga as the presidential aspirant who is most likely to unite Kenyans if elected. He is also thought of by the youth as the most trusted and the most inspiring aspirant.

Kenyatta and fellow DPM Musalia Mudavadi follow Odinga in preference when compared against the same variables.

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