KENYA PRESIDENT SAYS INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT PART OF HIS PLANS

President Uhuru Kenyatta has described infrastructure development, digitization, and healthcare reforms as some of the major gains in his government.

While addressing Kenyans during his last Madaraka Day Celebrations at the Uhuru Gardens, President Kenyatta said his administration has set the bar higher and it has built more roads than the last three regimes’ including the colonial government ever did

“When My Administration took over the helm of leadership, we knew we had only a maximum of two terms to accomplish a very ambitious agenda. And the challenge was that the bar set by my predecessor, the late President Kibaki, was high. To face this challenge, we had to first embrace what previous administrations had done and accelerate their achievements. This was part of the big push,” he stated.

“Today, I am proud to record that, if the Third Administration built 2,000 Kms of tarmac roads, we accelerated his achievement by building over 11,000 Kms, which is close to six times what they built. We have built more roads in 9 years than what the previous administrations combined, including the colonizers, built-in 123 years,” he indicated.

The Head of State who spoke passionately about his achievements, told off critics saying he gave them a deaf ear which enabled him to deliver to Kenyans

“The naysayers said that we should not invest so heavily in infrastructure. Because people don’t eat roads and floating bridges. I refused their pessimism because I know what a new road means to the farmer who has for decades been unable to get their products quickly to the market,” President Kenyatta said.

“I refused to delay the dream of world-class ports and fishing-support infrastructure because I wanted that fisherman in our oceans and lakes to be able to gain more from the sweat of their brow.”

He took credit for having completed the construction of the Nairobi Expressway in 18 months saying under normal circumstances, it would have taken 4 years to build it but his government achieved it in a year and a half because it believed in Kenya, in its people, and themselves as government.

President Kenyatta also boasted of having led from the front the push to accelerate service delivery to Kenyans through digitization.

The Head of State cited the introduction of Huduma Centres and the online platform eCitizen which he said makes access to public services a fast and pleasant experience, “not a toil that every citizen must endure to obtain basic services.”

On matters of Land, President Kenyatta pointed out that through his administration the reforms that have been implemented in the Land Registry have made the process of stumping out fake Title Deeds and reversing the fraud faster by the Ardhi-Sasa system.

“Never again will Kenyans accept that they must contend with long winding queues, pay the infamous and notorious ‘facilitation fee’ to receive their rights, or travel long distances to the nearest major town to receive even the most basic of public services,” said Kenyatta.

President Kenyatta defended loans taken by his administration saying they helped accelerate development in the country.

The head of state castigated those who hit out at his government saying the results can be seen.

“The only time that debt is a burden to a nation is if the nation is led by a cabal of looters. But in the hands of a visionary administration, debt is a catalyst for rapid development,” he said.

The Head of State answered critics saying his decision to borrow from the South Korean economic growth in a record 25 years aided Kenya tremendously.

“In just one generation they were at par with the West. The afro-pessimist will tell you that Kenya cannot replicate this ‘miracle’. But they are wrong. Our accelerated path to economic growth has begun and must be maintained by the incoming administration,” President Kenyatta stated.

The President stated that through loans, Kenya in just 9 years has moved from being the 12th largest economy in Africa to being the 6th.