Kenya Vision 2030-A Darling of Many...

KENYA VISION 2030: A Darling of Many!

The much hyped about Kenya’s’ development plan, The Vision 2030 otherwise known as Ruwaza ya Kenya 2030 in Swahili, is aimed at transforming the state of the nation into a more industrialized , middle-income state.

Launched by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on 10^th June 2008, it was aimed to cover the period 2008 to 2030, and in providing quality and efficient services as well as a clean environment aimed at improving the living conditions of the people by the time it comes to completion.

Developed through "an all-inclusive and participatory stakeholder consultative process, involving Kenyans from all parts of the country, the Development plan  is based around three "pillars," that is :Economic, Social, and Political pillars.

 

The programme that by then lain under the Ministry of state for Planning, headed by Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya, was to be implemented in successive five-year medium –term plans with the first plan covering the year 2008-2012 and the next one 2012-2017 and so on until 2030.

With the development plan, Kenya expected to achieve the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] by the 2015 deadline.

However, the vision 2030, a darling of many Kenyans, could still be a dream in the night.  the Governments, wake up call to achieving its set goals could be a nightmare to itself as some of its organs keep dragging the process backwards.

 

However much the programme was launched by the Government, the reality is that it is not committed to fulfilling its agenda. The top Government officials who are put in place to ensure the programme succeeds however view this from a profit making and a wealth enriching perspective.

I am afraid that the country may not even realise some of the Millennium Development Goals that are to be achieved by 2015. The illiteracy levels are still high as well as the infant mortality rate and this is a factor that will make it hard for the state to achieve its vision 2030.

Surprisingly enough, the programme has been politicized and its feasibility to unlock certain sectors to make an economic impact are derailed to the extent that lowering the unemployment rates and the high poverty levels are becoming a dream never to be realised.  

Ahem! Initiating this programme was deemed as a walk in the right direction. Having involved stakeholders from all over the country, the vision was tooled to focus on reforms and development in eight key sectors:

• Macroeconomic stability for long-term development
• Continuity in governance reforms
• Enhanced equity and wealth creation opportunities for the poor
• Infrastructure
• Energy
• Science, technology, and innovation (STI)
• Land reform
• Human resources development
• Security

Founded on those eight sectors, the Economic pillar was aimed at improving the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development programme, covering all the regions of Kenya and raising the country’s’ GDP to 10% per annum beginning 2012.

Through the Social pillar strategy, Kenya aimed at building a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure environment.

On the other hand, the Political pillar, aimed at realising a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in Kenyan society. It hoped to transform Kenya into a state in which equality is entrenched, irrespective of one’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender or socio-economic status; a nation that respects and harnesses the diversity of its peoples’ values, traditions and aspirations for the benefit of all its citizens.

Enough said, the dream of changing the country’s’ economic, social and political face, began with the launching of this development plan but surely is this working out?