[Kictanet] Nationmedia.com News: Kibaki launches vision for growth

Wed Nov 1 09:27:47 EAT 2006

How tragic indeed.  Huge oversight if ICT has no central
role  in this Vision 2030....further more it seems to
focuse on Industrialisation (halloo! that used to be the
target for economies in the 1950s). 

Now people talk about a Knowledge economy.  Indeed
Industrialisation per-se no longer provides a competitive
advantage.  The advantage lies in leveraging Information
Technologies to create value beyond Industrialisation.

Vision 2030 might be targeting the future - but using the
'side' mirror i.e driving into the future but relying too
much in the previous, economical fundamentals.  We need to
refocus it into the right direction.  I don't know how and
if there is room and a role for KICTANet here.

walu.

--- Nation Media <news at nationmedia.com> wrote:

---------------------------------

eadera at idrc.or.ke has sent you this article from
Nationmedia.com with this message:
Colleagues,It is TRAGIC! that vision 2030 has not given
prominence to the role of ICTs as an enabler - it's not
highlighted in the article, maybe in the document itself?.
Who's working on the strategy to deliver this vision? and
what role can we play as KICTANET to change this? This is a
challenge I throw to all of us! We must do something! The
countries mentioned in this article have been fundamentally
transformed by ICTs. your views on practical steps we can
take to ensure ICTs are well integrated in the strategy?
EdithKibaki launches vision for growth Published:
10/31/2006By: MUGO NJERU  
---------------------------------

President Kibaki yesterday launched an ambitious economic
programme aimed at transforming Kenya into an economic
powerhouse with a sustainable growth rate of 10 per cent by
2030. 
The President told leaders to keep politics out of the
project dubbed Kenya Vision 2030. 

President Kibaki greets Nation CEO Wilfred Kiboro and other
members of the National Economic and Social Council
yesterday before officially launching Vision 2030 at KICC
in Nairobi. The vision is expected to transform Kenya into
a prosperous nation. Photo/William Oeri. 

He said: "Vision 2030 goes beyond any single government,
party, political persuasion or religion. It is a call to
all Kenyans to make it possible for us to wipe out from our
land absolute poverty, famine, mass unemployment and
preventable deaths from malaria and water-borne diseases." 

Although President Kibaki said he was optimistic that the
development goal would be achieved, it will depend on how
the country manages its affairs in the next five years. 
High quality of life 
"Under Vision 2030, we see ourselves becoming a
middle-income, prosperous country, providing a high quality
of life for all our people," the President said at the
launch of the initiative at the Kenyatta International
Conference Centre in Nairobi. 
To realise the goal, he said Kenyans must build on the
competitive advantages in key sectors of the economy to
expand the country's share of the global market. 
Besides the 10 per cent growth over 25 years, another
pillar of the programme will be building a just and
cohesive society with equitable social development and a
clean and secure environment. 
The initiative also aims at building a democratic political
system that nurtures issue-based politics, the rule of law
and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual
and society. 
Several leaders at the meeting described the vision as
noble and said it should be supported by all Kenyans. ODM
Kenya secretary-general Anyang Nyong'o said the vision was
good but its success would depend on the goodwill of
successive governments. "The Government and the opposition
are united on this vision," he said. 
Finance minister Amos Kimunya said its success depended on
people working together as one nation. 
He and other speakers said it was possible to propel the
country to the levels of economies like Malaysia,
Singapore, Indonesia, Chile and South Korea, most of which
which were in the same economic footing with Kenya in the
1970s. 
Trade and Industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi said the vision
is achievable if it is not held hostage by any government
and if it receives support from the media and the private
sector. 
President Kibaki said for the country to realise the
success of the vision, it was important to put in place a
clear strategy detailing what needed to be achieved for
each of the pillars of the programme for the next five
years. 
He said that over the years, coffee production has been
declining from over 120,000 tons a year to less than 50,000
this year, which had a devastating effect on farmers'
incomes and employment opportunities. 
"We need to make sure that under Vision 2030, the
strategies that will be developed will not repeat the
mistakes of the past and avoid imposing a costly burden on
the people of this country," he said. 
On manufacturing, the President said the sector had barely
grown in the last 20 years. "The textile industry which was
very vibrant in 1970s and 1980s has virtually been wiped
out while the EPZ-based enterprises are experiencing
serious competition in the global market," he said. 
Leather and other livestock-related industries have also
not made significant breakthroughs in the global market
although these are sectors in which Kenya could have
competitive advantage and growth if the right strategies
and policies were applied. 
"I challenge the experts who are developing the strategies
to pay special attention to these sectors for the next five
years, because they have the greatest potential for
delivering widely shared economic and social benefits for
the Kenyan people," President Kibaki said. 
On tourism, he noted that although the number of tourists
visiting Kenya had increased over the last few years,
income from the sector was far below that of small European
countries, the Caribbean and North Africa. 
With proper planning and investment, the country should be
able to attract and accommodate five million tourists by
2012, the President said. 
He said the economic performance of any country was closely
tied to the application of science and technology and that
was why the country was investing considerably in higher
education and research institutions. 
The vision strategy, he said, should be geared towards
enhancing Kenya's scientific and technological capacity,
promoting a scientific culture and integrating science and
technology into the production and service sectors. 
There was also need to expand, upgrade and sustain health
facilities while ensuring that they remain accessible and
affordable to all Kenyans. 
President Kibaki said rapid urban population growth had
resulted in serious unemployment, growing slums and an
increase of hawkers. It was also causing a severe strain on
the provision of services such as maintenance of law and
order, water supply, sewerage and sanitation, education and
health facilities. 
The President said: "Effective planning of and ability to
enforce compliance for the proper administration of our
cities and major towns requires to be accorded high
priority in the strategies that will be developed to meet
the challenges of urbanisation." 
He directed that measures to wipe out slums and replace
them with well-planned, low-cost houses in all major towns
be implemented without delay. 

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