Mobilising patriotism for the wellbeing of Kenyans
Excerpts of President William Ruto’s Mashujaa Day speech.
I am privileged to join Kenyans, and our visitors, as we commemorate the 59th anniversary of Mashujaa Day. We observe this day every year to reflect upon where we have come, to consider the troubled road we trod through, the sorrowful wilderness of colonial injustice, and the price that was paid in blood, toil, anguish and death for us to free.
We also celebrate the histories of the heroes and heroines who sacrificed valiantly in our freedom struggle. We ask ourselves today: What must we do to transmit this noble history and ensure that future generations appreciate us, not only as worthy heirs but also as skilful stewards of their heritage?
Housing
We have committed to closing the housing gap, which stands at 2 million units as of now. Our target is to increase the supply fourfold from 50,000 to 200,000 per year. Already, 2,592 units have been completed, 40,452 are under construction and over 500,000 units that require funding are in the pipeline.
The housing agenda is not just about four walls and a roof. It is an opportunity to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Our manufacturing sector, which already supplies many products in the construction industry, will have expanded business opportunities.
Other housing inputs such as doors, windows, gates and hinges will be made by our jua kali industry.
We want to recreate the experience of hardworking Kenyans like John Ochieng, who is present as one of my guests today. I met him two days ago when I handed over keys to new homeowners in Ongata Rongai in Kajiado County under the affordable housing scheme. Ochieng began working as a carpenter in that housing project when it began two years ago. Then, home ownership to him was a mere dream. Two years later, he owns an apartment in the same estate. Ochieng’s story will be replicated multiple times throughout the country.
Next week on Tuesday, I will break ground at the Kibera Soweto B in Nairobi for a housing project which will deliver thousands of social housing units. Going forward, we intend to collaborate with county governments to achieve a target of at least 5,000 units in every county. Counties with larger metropolitan areas have a greater opportunity and can target as many as 50,000 units.
Access to Credit
Access to credit is a stimulant that invigorates the economy. However, high-interest rates crowd out the private sector and especially small and medium enterprises. Our commitment to affordable credit was at the heart of the Kenya Kwanza election campaign. Already, expectations are very high across the country on our promise to provide a fund that will offer affordable credit to those at the bottom of the pyramid.
Even before the fund is set up, we made several interventions to make credit accessible. Safaricom and their financial partners have brought down the cost of Fuliza by reducing interest rates by 50 per cent. As part of that agreement, four million borrowers who had been blacklisted will be freed from the yoke of Credit Reference Bureaus.
On December 1, this year, I will launch the Hustler Fund credit and savings product.
Universal Health Care
Health is the front and centre of socio-economic development. The failure of a healthcare system undermines prosperity. Kenyan families spend a total of Ksh150 billion in out-of-pocket expenditures on health services a year mobilised from various sources. One million Kenyans sink into poverty every year because of medical expenses.
We want to lift this punitive burden through our universal health care plan. The plan is to revitalise primary healthcare by laying more emphasis on preventive and promotive strategies. Many critical health illnesses, including cancer, heart complications, kidney failure and hypertension, can be detected and addressed at this level without the need for a hospital visit or admission.
Our health reform commitment is three-fold: to partner with county governments; to reform the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), and to address the challenge of inadequate human resources in public hospitals and the poor relations between health professionals and county governments.
Digital Superhighway
Kenya is a strong leader in the information, communication and technology space. We are the proud regional and continental hub of innovation. We have the appropriate policy framework, and constitutionally protected freedoms of expression, media, information and communication to dominate this arena.
Over the next five years, the government will ensure universal broadband availability. The laying out of an additional 100,000km of the national fibre-optic network is expected to deliver this target. Government services shall be available at greater convenience through digitisation and automation, with a view to bringing at least 80 per cent of all services online. Also, the government intends to take measures to bring down the cost of calls and data
Rule of Law
There are parts of this country where personal safety and security are precarious, and life expectancy is low. Poverty and the cost of living are high because markets and supply chains have been disrupted or threatened by insecurity.
It is time for this lawlessness to stop for good. On my first day in office, I executed directives to enable it to rapidly achieve national security strategic objectives.
These actions extend to the facilitation of the Director of Criminal Investigations to expeditiously resolve investigations. The independence of the National Police Service is essential for its institutional credibility and efficiency, citizen safety and welfare, and maintenance of law and order.
At the terminal end of this chain, the government has undertaken its obligations to observe judicial independence while actualising the Judiciary Fund.
Also, the fight against corruption must be won. Our government intends to wage this fight and demonstrate its commitment to zero tolerance for corruption by making all public servants accountable.
The National Police Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Judiciary and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission shall perform their duties independently and professionally.
Education
For our socio-economic transformation to be truly inclusive, we must empower all Kenyans, regardless of background, to effectively play their part by contributing to the nation-building effort. A week ago, we launched the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms to review all aspects of education in Kenya. Its recommendations shall inform subsequent necessary intervention to ensure that Kenya delivers the calibre of education, skills and training needed to successfully pursue sustainable development.
Climate Change
We are concerned about climate change and its impact on Kenya generally and our arid and semi-arid regions in particular. We will address the effects of this phenomenon and its ravaging effects at home and abroad. Our pastoralist communities have experienced a scarcity of pasture due to a prolonged drought. As a result, we have lost 2.5 million heads of livestock. Rising food prices have made an already bad situation worse. Elsewhere, communities in rural and urban areas are struggling under the weight of high food prices and shortages of water.
Regional partners
In recent days, I have been to our sister countries in East Africa to take care of mutually beneficial regional business. In Ethiopia, we launched Safaricom Ethiopia telecoms’ money business, which expanded Safaricom and M-Pesa’s regional footprint. Simultaneously, Safaricom became the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia, and Kenya’s biggest foreign investor abroad.
The East African Community has become a close-knit neighbourhood, and everyone’s well-being has become everybody’s business. With this unity and integration, we will achieve much.
In the Horn of Africa, peace and security efforts continue to dominate our engagement. The conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia is, according to reports from the office of the United Nations secretary-general, escalating. This is a great source of concern for our region. Kenya shall continue to play its role by making such contributions as is required.
We also remain devoted to our strategic engagements with key development partners like the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Middle Eastern nations, the Far East, including China and Japan, and many other parts of the world.
Multilateralism
Kenya’s commitment to multilateralism is a fundamental plank of our diplomatic strategy and foreign policy. This has defined our international outlook since the advent of self-government and full sovereignty.
We join other nations of the Global South to advocate the democratisation of global governance and to invest in the multilateral system with higher moral imagination.
To drive our diplomacy and international engagement, Kenya has unified and clarified its policy in our Vision 2030 and our government’s Five-Pillar Plan for socio-economic transformation, the 5th East African Community Development Strategy, AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Diaspora
Government efforts to affirm and project Kenya’s stature globally have always been complemented by the contributions of Kenyan citizens who live and work in various parts of the world. This demonstrates the complementarity of State and citizen action, and the inevitable alignment between patriotism and national well-being. Our diaspora continues to serve as excellent ambassadors, along with our sports people and the Kenyans who continue to excel abroad in diverse fields.
Going forward
This is a time for action. The opportunities to contribute to this historic project are limitless. It is time for us as citizens to play our part in making the Kenya we imagine come true. I stand here, therefore, on this sacred ground where we first raised our proud flag at the dawn of freedom, where we made a covenant to honour their glorious triumph and fine example by embracing their values and serving our nation, to rally every Kenyan to rise up.
Happy Mashujaa Day. God bless you. God bless Kenya.
