Today afternoon the president Uhuru Kenyatta made his second last state of the nation address before a joint parliamentary sitting. the address was meant for the first quarter of the year but was put off by the corona virus pandemic his last address was last year in April 2019 .
Only 114 from 46 were allowed to follow the briefing in regards to adherence with covid situation.
The rest and almost all Kenyans watched the briefing virtually.
This is what he spoke about:
Covid-19 cases: yes the pandemic has disrupted lives and that so far the case are at 66,723 after 1,203 cases were confirmed today and that 23 more patients have succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours.
Education: He also instructed the ministry of education to roll out the 2021 calendar with 14 days, announcing that all students that are at home are expected to resume face to face learning in January 2021 he also added that the CBC which was enrolled in January 2019 all parties involved are warming up to it which is a good thing.
For the infrastructure needed for the resumption of school the ministry of education and transport , infrastructure will by December 1st issue new set of guidelines for school infrastructure.
Nairobi metropolitan service: is doing its job to ensure that the city people do not live in a dignity poor environment as it has been for the past 60 years since independence.
Title deeds: he said that he has issued 4.5 million titles since 2013 when he first became president.
Plight of the youth: he notes that his administration has been working to shift young people from being “earners of wage” to “owners of capital”
Security: the state of security is strong and our homeland is secure from any threats he tells parliament.
Development projects: he says construction of Nairobi Express way project is on course and the deal for Nairobi –mau summit express way already signed. For ports and bridges, he says the Lamu port Berth-one is complete and his administration is in the final stage of installing a floating footbridge at Likoni. He also adds that the Kisumu port rehabilitation works are complete and the new port is already processing fuel products to Uganda
Building bridges: the president said that election alone cannot bring peace and unity to a divided people. He asks leaders to reach out to each other and build bridges to allow people to cross into safety and prosperity.
Kenyatta also asks Kenyans to engage in positive discourse of the BBI with a view to effecting far reaching changes that will address the challenges Kenya is facing now.
He holds that major changes are needed in the constitution and other laws so as to lay the foundation for the prosperous future that we seek.
“This moment in time is our meeting with destiny, when generations come long after we gone let them say that we made the right decisions at this moment; that we chose unity over division, that we dreamt of and birthed a happier and more prosperous nation.
On pandemic effect on development agendas : he says his administration ‘s focus is on implementing the Kenya vision 2030 and its medium term plan dubbed the big four agenda , noting that most of the major economic sectors experienced impressive growth last year including manufacturing , agriculture , tourism and financial services . He also added that the pandemic has underscored the need to upscale the implementation of the universal health coverage pillar of big four agenda
He added that the universal health care was successfully implanted and out of it we have isolated critical learning posts that have informed enhancements to my administration’s health policy priorities.
He finally ended his speech/argument by saying: “Kenya is greater than any individual. it’s even greater than its citizens .we are a beacon of hope and an icon of peace and stability in a volatile region and a role model for progressive African social democracy .”
“These qualities are not inherent and we must continuously water them from the well of our national commitment to a better, brighter and more inclusive Kenya for all “
“Finally as we seek to grow our democracy and deepen institutional synergy within government, I challenge the leadership of our two houses of parliament to strive as much as possible to resolve issues of concern by consensus building.
“As worldwide experience shows, there is always some level of jostling to be expected between the two chambers of a national legislature, as they seek to better exercise their institutional mandate .those issues should only escalate to external dispute resolution processes as a last resort, doing otherwise hurriedly compromises the legislative authority of the house. On our part the executive will always be at hand to aid in that consensus building and to foster internally mediated outcomes within parliament.
