Use Vision 2030 to bring cohesive governance

The Kenya Vision 2030 is the country’s long-term development blueprint that was launched in 2008 and is anchored on three pillars: Economic, social and political.

The policy seeks to make Kenya a globally competitive country by registering an annual growth rate of more than 10 per cent and sustaining it to 2030. Since the long-term economic development strategy was initiated, a number of issues have arisen, materially affecting the realisation of the policy.

The road towards realisation of this vision is seemingly becoming hectic. The country has faced a number of economic, social and political challenges since it was launched. Squabbles within the government are evident. That shows there is little coherence in government policies, making the realisation of the vision’s objectives to lag behind.

Climatic shocks in the country, including floods, have been experienced. Extended drought periods have further posed challenges to provision of basic services.

Kenya, like many other countries, is in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not only a global crisis; it has also affected the global economy and financial markets.

Reduction in incomes, increased unemployment and disruption in the transportation services and manufacturing industries are among the harsh challenges the country is experiencing.

The disruption of economic activities and the negative impact in service industries may cause a lasting structural impact on the global economy or long-term financial and economic effects. This is a huge drawback in the realisation of the vision.

All these obstacles should challenge each and every one and be an eye opener towards speeding up the realisation of these objectives.

For the country to achieve the set milestone, political sacrifices will have to be made by those in authority. They need to be more accountable to the taxpayer, address the dragon of corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

The electorate should also take part in nation-building. They need to be more proactive in decision-making and should not be driven by populist theories. They are responsible for holding their leaders accountable so as to achieve Vision 2030. That will help them to have a share of tax and revenue collected by the national government so as to reduce poverty and improve health care, education and human security.

The government and economic experts should urgently review the strategy paper and make an effort at transforming Kenya into a newly industrialising middle-income country, providing a high quality of life to its citizens in a clean and secure environment by 2030 as envisaged in the vision.

Judy Ngetta, Kisumu