President Kibaki on Tuesday outlined his vision for a new and prosperous Kenya devoid of crime, corruption and impunity.He said Kenyans must first shed their tribalism and concentrate on issues and events that united them. They must further give priority to national healing and reconciliation as well as ending the culture of impunity.
Despite the challenges we face, we see within our grasp the opportunity to transform Kenya into a new country, with strong democratic and economic institutions, said President Kibaki at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi.
Unite us
He was accompanied by First Lady Lucy Kibaki, who was making her first public appearance after a long absence. Also present were leaders and wananchi from all walks of life.
Let us not direct our energies on issues that divide us but on the many issues and similarities that unite us. We must therefore not lose sight of this vision. Nor should we lose sight of the progress we have made so far.
President Kibaki , who was addressing the 46th Kenyatta Day celebrations, announced that the government would tackle corruption and crime with renewed vigour, while ensuring that all the pledges were delivered.
Reforms in the Judiciary will also be undertaken soon while the Mau, Aberdares, Mt Kenya, Mt Elgon and the Cherengany Hills water towers will be restored.
The process of resettling all the internally displaced persons would also be completed soon.
On Tuesday, the President directed that stern action be taken against government officials found engaging in corrupt activities.
I direct all accounting officers to institute sanctions, including prosecution and sacking of any officers serving under them who commit acts of corruption.
Wananchi were also asked to be fearless in exposing all public officials who demanded bribes. The private sector was also asked to stop inducing public servants with bribes to win favours.
President Kibaki said despite the fact that the war on graft was still far from being won, there were some positive results being registered.
This, he said, was due to a decline in the number of cases, especially those involving grand corruption, being reported by the National Audit Office.
And he attributed this to tougher procurement laws, the oversight role of parliamentary committees and scrutiny by the civil society and the media.
We want more investigations and prosecutions involving corruption, said the President. This will help regain and retain public confidence in public institutions.
He said the economy, which suffered a beating as a result of the post-election violence was on the road to recovery.
Last year, the economy grew at a rate of 1.7 per cent down from 7.1 per cent in 2007. The government anticipates that it will grow by between two and three per cent this year.
And with the onset of the rains, President Kibaki urged farmers to take advantage of the favourable weather to enhance the countrys food security.
The government will, on its part, distribute subsidised fertiliser and relief seeds to farmers.
Irrigation, the Head of State said, would also be given more prominence with the government expecting to put at least one million acres under irrigation.
He said if farmers took advantage of those measures, the country could be food-sufficient in two years.
On the new constitution, the Head of State said it was still on course and remained confident that it would be in place next year. But he urged the committee of experts to ensure that the new constitution represented the aspirations of majority of Kenyans and it would withstand the test of time.
He also hoped that the new constitution would provide for the establishment of a new electoral body as outlined by the Kriegler commission.
He also urged the Interim Boundaries Review Commission and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to undertake their mandate appropriately.
On IDPs, the President asked Kenyans to commit themselves to ensure that the violence never happened again.
And on climate change, he appealed to Kenyans to make fundamental changes in the way they live and adapt to the negative consequences.
He reiterated that Kenya would be seeking compensation at the forthcoming conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, for bearing the greatest burden of climate change.
Daily Nation
Post published in: Uncategorized