Infrastructural development is key among Vision 2030’s goals. Photo/CFM-FILE.
Nairobi, Kenya Jun 9 – Kenya is today marking the tenth anniversary of implementing Vision 2030, which has been hailed as a model of long-term economic planning that has stabilized the economy and created a stable foundation for economic takeoff.
The Vision has been credited for unifying Kenyans towards a common vision of progress and opportunity and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.
Speaking in Nairobi, ahead of celebrations to mark the first decade of execution since its launch, the chairman of Vision 2030 Delivery Board, Dr. James Mwangi said the country is in good stead to achieve its envisaged 2030 dream owing to sustained investments in social, political, economic and infrastructure over the last ten years.
“Despite the challenges on its path, including the turbulence the country and globe faced – whether the global financial crisis in 2008, US interest rates or the political post-poll crises, Kenya has been able to manage the domestic and external shocks and stabilize its economy, all due to the institutionalization of long-term planning,” Dr. Mwangi added.
The Vision was formed in June 2008, following a successful roll-out of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) between 2003-2007 by the Grand Coalition Government. The 5-year ERS was credited with catapulting Kenya’s recovery from a growth rate of 1.2 percent in 2002 to a growth of over seven percent in 2007.
Terming the political environment as the greatest impediment to successful implementation of the vision, Dr. Mwangi said Kenyans should take comfort in the defining progress made on addressing the political environment through the Vision 2030’s political pillar.
“The promulgation of the Constitution in 2010 and its ongoing implementation has single-handedly solved half of those problems. The manifestation of a robust legal framework, the ongoing devolution and a working electoral system in 2013 and 2017 General Elections, the safeguards of a democratic space and strong institutions has given impetus to other sectors of the economy,” the chairman added. “Due to such an environment, in the last 4 years alone, investment levels in Kenya have since risen from $390m in 2013 to nearly $2bn in 2016, with 1,532 companies registering in Kenya over the same period.
While infrastructure development has defined the Vision 2030 plan, it has set a foundation to unlock more benefits for all Kenyans through pillars such as manufacturing, said former Ambassador Francis Muthaura, a Vision 2030 titan and Chairman of the LAPSSET, a Vision 2030 flagship project.
“Millions of Kenyan households are now connected to the grid. Kenyans are now saving time and costs through modernized transport infrastructure, the once-regarded marginalized Northern frontier is opening up to investors’ wealth as tarmacked roads express places like Lodwar, Mararal, Moyale and Marsabit. This sets up a conducive environment for enhancing prosperity at the macro level through the ‘Big Four’ Plan,” said Amb. Muthaura.
Kenyans will however need to be involved and participate in the implementation of the Vision, according to Dr. Julius Muia, Principal Secretary, State Department for Planning, and immediate former Director General, Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, the next 12 years will require all segments of the society to pull together for the success of the Vision.
“We need to convert the non-believers of the Vision to believers so that we are all pulling forward together. There is a place for every Kenyan to be involved in attaining the ideals of the Vision 2030, whether at the national government, county government, private sector or diaspora community,” said Dr. Muia.
According to the Julianna Rotich, a Vision 2030 Delivery Board Member, the country’s growing youth demographic has the opportunity to create a vibrant knowledge-based economy through the liberalized Information, Communications and Telecommunications sector, a low-hanging fruit of the Vision 2030.
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