SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE FIFTH MASHUJAA DAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2014 My Fellow Kenyans, We gather today at this Mashujaa Day, to celebrate our heroes and heroines. The men and women who through their acts of courage and compassion define the essence of Kenya and its people. Kenyans who stood up to denounce, organise against and fight colonial rule. Kenyans in our security forces, currently on the battlefield combating terrorists at home and abroad. The brave police officers, soldiers, and civilians, like Chief Inspector Stephen Lelei, Sergeant Moses Emojong and the late Lieutenant Joseph Mukoto Masulia, who risked their lives to save innocents attacked at the Westgate Mall last September. We lionise our winning sportsmen and women. Their winning exploits repeatedly reaffirm that our innate talent once combined with hard work can raise us from the smallest village to be the best in the world. To see the determination, teamwork and dignity of men and women like, as they battle for victory, is to be reminded anew of the limitless possibilities that are ours to grasp. Just as importantly, we also celebrate the multitude of unsung heroes whose everyday efforts bring progress and unity to families, communities and our nation. All of us have Mashujaa in our lives. We give thanks to the aunt who sacrifices her own comforts to pay for school or hospital fees. The local policeman, who turns up for work everyday ready to apprehend dangerous criminals. The nurses and doctors who go beyond the call of duty to soothe our pain and give us hope. We are grateful for those who mentor the young, and the philanthropists whose charities save lives and bring relief to the orphaned, the poor, the sick, the hungry and the destitute. They are just as great Mashujaa as our most heroic freedom fighters, Koitalel arap Samoei, Mekatilili, Dedan Kimathi, the Kapenguria Six, Oginga Odinga. And those men and women … Wangari Mathai, Ali Mazrui, and others … who have used their education to open our eyes to the most pressing challenges of the day. Our gratitude is deeply felt for their sacrifices confirm that we are one, and that this unity in caring for one another will make us greater than the sum of our parts. Fellow Kenyans, It is my fundamental conviction that together we can do and achieve more. That is the essence of our new constitution which has devolved power so that we can deliberate together at the grassroots on the best solutions to our problems. Even as devolution is pursued, my Government is accelerating the pace of East African integration. It will offer our businesspeople and their foreign counterparts to seize the opportunities in a large and inviting regional economy and thus create millions of jobs for young Kenyans. To reap lasting benefit from the simultaneous implementation of devolution and regional integration requires a united people. Unfortunately, too many of our leaders are masters at shouting at one another, seeking headlines more than real development, and using every ethnic and religious difference to try and split us apart. The immense promise of Kenya will only be truly realised if we all insist that they change their ways and become masters of listening to one another. That they compete to create headlines announcing concrete development achievements; and that their words and actions reflect a desire to serve Kenyans. Fellow Citizens, This present era of our republic was inaugurated four years ago when we adopted a people-centred constitutional order. We came to that celebrated pass through a united, century-old effort to overthrow colonial oppression and build an independent, democratic Kenya. In celebrating our renewed republic, we should strive to remember that colonialism was ultimately a brutal undermining of the rule of law that our forefathers had lived by. It therefore follows that upholding our constitution is a daily reclamation of what was initially lost to colonial rule. It is by living under laws and rules of our own making that we are a sovereign people whose collective will must never be subordinate to any. Yet there are forces that seek to reverse our progress, to interfere in the affairs of our nation, and to rupture our unity. We must therefore remain ever vigilant if we are to retain the right to build a prosperous, independent and strong nation. To this day, there are those abroad that seek to advance their economic and geopolitical goals to our disadvantage. They fund and nurture various outfits whose actions and visions seem set to create cleavages between Kenyans, and leave us despondent with their messages of pervasive failure. These actors have positioned themselves as the gatekeepers and interpreters of Kenya in various capitals. If they were to succeed, they would so completely rob us of faith in each other that we would put our destiny in the hands of unelected, unaccountable institutions that answer to elsewhere. This however will not happen as long as my government is in place. I pledged to protect our sovereignty and advance our constitutional democracy. I will do so without hesitation and with no favour or letup. As a start, my Government will insist on transparency of resource mobilisation and utilisation in and outside the public sector. This is especially important in enabling us to successfully combat the Al-Shabaab terrorists and their local sympathisers. Our democratic space with its right to free speech and association gives them the opportunity to use exaggerated, dishonest claims of victimhood to radicalise and recruit Kenyan youth. Their funding and activities must be uncovered at all times to put a stop to their campaign to kill innocent Kenyan civilians and the brave members of our security forces. My Fellow Kenyans, The threat of terrorists to our democracy is profound. They are part of a networked global movement that even as I speak is destroying lives and entire communities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. Thousands of foreign fighters are streaming into terrorist campaigns worldwide from even the richest most advanced democracies. They perpetrate attacks such as the ones we suffered at Westgate, Gikomba, Thika Superhighway and Mpeketoni. Not as a response to any action or inaction by our government or people, but because they seek to terrorise us into helplessly acceding to their evil vision of a society in which women are virtually slaves, where there is no freedom of religion, of speech or indeed of any democratic choice. Like leeches, they feed on the disunity arising from local leaders whose constant negativity divides our communities and causes false ethnic and religious antagonism. My Government will intensify efforts to stamp out incitement. We will insist with every legal tool at my disposal that the use of public pulpits by all leaders, teachers, preachers and imams be lawful and focused on building national cohesion. As we undertake these efforts, let us take the time to honour and celebrate our men and women in uniform who serve at home and abroad. These patriots daily risk their lives to bring stability to neighbouring Somalia by waging war against a ruthless Al-Shabaab. Some of them have paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. As their Commander in Chief, I call on you to join me in honouring them all. Our best tribute to them is to make sure they feel our gratitude. We should also play our part by denying criminals space to operate. This will be achieved by our participating in the Nyumba Kumi program. Since its inception, numerous plans by extremists and terrorists have been foiled with the assistance of Kenyans. Our country will become safe neighbourhood by neighbourhood through the involvement of each and every one of us. Fellow Kenyans, It is not only terrorists and criminals that make us feel uncertain. Many of us wonder what the future holds for us in terms of securing the education and skills that will enable us to secure a decent livelihood. This is especially the case with our youth. My Government has commenced a number of transformative initiatives aimed at the creation of millions of jobs. Foremost are large-scale infrastructure projects we have initiated that will accelerate our country’s economic development. One of these is in expanding energy production so that we can sharply lower the cost of electric power. Your power bills next month will tell you that this is a reality. By 2017, we intend to have added 5,000 Megawatts of green, clean and reliable power to the national grid. Cheaper power delivered through faster connection will instantly improve food production and agro-processing. Manufacturing firms will become more competitive and expand their production. The result in the agricultural sector, which is still the major employer of Kenyans, and in manufacturing, which is our route to becoming a wealthy nation, will be the creation of more jobs. These investments in power production will also improve academic performance and make learning outcomes more equal across the country. We have already connected 11,000 schools to the power grid, and are adding dozens more every week. Cheaper connections to the grid and lower household prices mean many more children being able to study late into the night and thus improve their performance. We are also working to ensure that all hospitals and dispensaries have electricity so that they can adopt technologies that save more lives. As more of our streets are lit more cheaply, our towns and cities will become safer from crime. Fellow Kenyans, My Government took only a year to deliver a new world-class airport terminal in Nairobi after last year’s fire. We are bringing the same kind of ambition to constructing new airports, port facilities, railways and roads. In the next 5 years, we intend to tarmac 10,000 kilometres of new roads; this is almost equal to what was done in the fifty years since independence. This infrastructure will create jobs for our young people and wealth for us all. First because the Government has ensured that it is a legal requirement for government to give 30% of government tenders to youth-owned businesses. Next, it is these roads, railway, ports and airports that will allow more companies to be based in Kenya where they can employ skilled and hardworking Kenyans while being able to send their goods into the fast integrating markets of East Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. The combination of cheaper power, better infrastructure and improved security will enable us to build a 24-hour economy whose reach is global. My Fellow Citizens, Even as we reach for the stars, I know that many Kenyans are struggling because food prices are still too high. The simple reason is that the supply is not adequately meeting the growing demand. To reverse this, my Government has enabled the cultivation of the first 10,000 of the committed one million acres of irrigated farmland. This will enable us feed all Kenyans much more cheaply by 2017. We are also taking immediate action to help the most vulnerable. Under the Hunger and Safety Net Programme covering Mandera, Marsabit, Wajir and Turkana, my Government has allocated 15.8 billion shillings under a 5-year programme, distributed to 100,000 households. We have also expanded the social protection plan to cover more than one million elderly and severely disabled people this financial year. We almost doubled the number of households benefiting from this monthly stipend to almost half a million. It will offer some basic support that is reliable so that other efforts by individuals and communities have something to build on. Fellow Kenyans, As we wait for the jobs that will come with transformation, we are taking measures to create opportunities now. My Government’s One Million Artisans training programme will connect trainees to job opportunities in medium and large projects. Moreover, young people, especially in the ICT sector, will secure jobs through the Agency model for eCitizen services. My Government’s commissioning of 60 technical colleges, with 40 more to come is testament to our belief that not all paths to success pass through university. A watershed example of this vision is in our restructuring of the National Youth Service into an institution that will drive the youth transformation agenda. Last year, NYS recruited over 4000 youth; this year, the intake was 20,000; and next year we want to recruit 60,000 and to continue expanding in the coming years. Involvement in urban gentrification and rejuvenation starting with Kibera where NYS are working with local youth to create hope and opportunity out of hopelessness is a vital part of our programme. These young people will be provided with vital skills in demand by employers and will also be eligible for enterprise loans. In return, they have the opportunity to serve our country. In the past year alone, working with ministries, they have constructed over a thousand small dams and water pans for domestic, agricultural and livestock use in dry areas. They clean the poorest areas of our cities, and do so with a patriotic zeal that inspires all who see them work. I want every young Kenyan to know that despite today’s challenges, the future is bright. Your education, your ability to work hard and be open to the world that is the common gift of Kenya’s diverse cultures, combines to make you one of the most attractive workers in the world. My Government is working overtime to make sure that we enable your efforts, and those of investors so that they can make maximum use of your abilities. Fellow Kenyans, My recent call for volunteer healthcare workers to go and help the West African nations being ravaged by Ebola has been responded to positively by dozens of brave men and women. I want to honour them for such compassion and generosity. The more we do to stop the virus spreading at its source, the safer our country and region will be. These heroic volunteers teach us of the indomitable spirit of our people. There is also an important lesson in the thousands of deaths from the crisis they are going to combat. That weak state institutions unable to properly deliver health and security services to all are an invitation to disaster. It was not always this way in Africa. We got to this unfortunate result by too willingly adopting development paradigms that have systematically weakened our states for the last thirty years. No more. We must refocus our efforts, and those of the entire world, on building effective governments whose services are accessible to all, accountable to all, accountable to all and that have the extra resources to respond to shocks and emergencies. This is the duty of Government and must not be outsourced to donor-funded entities whose efforts are aimed at relief and not at the comprehensive scale it takes to transform lives or respond to crises. Having said this, it is important that we acknowledge that the greatest roadblock to effective government is corruption. Asking for bribes or paying them weakens systems and destroys hope. The most heroic action you can take as a citizen is to ensure that in all our counties, towns, cities and villages, we denounce all forms of corruption and refuse to participate in this scourge. My Government is working hard to use technology, better management and transparency to eliminate loopholes used for corruption. My Fellow Citizens, I urge you to join me in recognising that our individual aspirations are better realised in a political marketplace whose focus is on development. Not endless, noisy and unproductive politicking. My Government is focused in doing everything possible to enable you to develop as an individual and a community. That is why I express gratitude to a group of heroes who are rarely praised in occasions such as these. I am talking about the entrepreneurs whose persistence to build and grow a business – whether small or big – requires they overcome many disappointments and take many risks. Their struggle to pay salaries every month, to open new markets and develop new products is heroic. It is the prosperity that they create which will allow us to offer the kind of education, health and security we all want for our children. My Government will do everything in its power to improve services and lower the cost of doing business to assist them to succeed. Finally, dear Kenyans, I look ahead and see a great destiny waiting for us. I know we will attain it because I lead a people who count millions of heroes among them, and whose unity will be our shield and torch in the coming days. Thanks to you all, because you are the heroes of today and the future, and God Bless Kenya. Share
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:31:50 +0000
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