Ruto defends Vision 2060, calls for national unity in shaping Kenya's future

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President William Ruto has defended the proposed Vision 2060 National development plans, urging the nation as a whole to take part in the discussion.

Speaking during church services at ACK St Stephen’s Chepkoilel, Moiben, Uasin Gishu, the president said the development of the country is a responsibility of every Kenyan.

He said it is time the country operationalised the development chapter, adding that development cannot be done in hiding, secrecy or by a few.

“I want to encourage all of us as leaders, as citizens, different sectors, and Kenyans; it is time as a nation that we sit together and agree on where Kenya must be in this generation,”

He noted that many developed countries planned on how to improve their place, urging that Kenya cannot afford to have a larger percentage of its people still in poverty.

“We must sit together as a nation to see how we are going to make sure that Kenya becomes a wealthy and prosperous nation.”

He called out his critics, saying the Kenyan constitution does not envisage a democratic and poor nation but a democratic, wealthy and prosperous nation.

“There are some people who think there are countries that have been designed to be poor; people are complaining of all the development happening.”

He accused his opponents of lacking an agenda and a vision that can push the country forward, inviting them for a discussion on the development of the country.

“And so I’m asking myself why we cannot sit together, why anybody has a problem with us sitting together as a nation. Are you against public participation or citizens coming together? He questioned

“And I want to say here without fear of contradiction that we are going to discuss the future of our nation.”

The president, during his State of the Nation address on Thursday, July 30, introduced Vision 2063 as a long-term strategy to transform Kenya into a high-income, industrialised nation, replacing Vision 2030.

He noted that the previous Vision 2030 had fallen off target. The plan is aimed at crafting Kenya's next long-term development blueprint to "prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation", according to the president.

In his address, the president said that the blueprint will be shaped through public consultations beginning August 12, aimed at translating constitutional guarantees on health, housing, food, water and education into "measurable development outcomes" and to forge a "shared national development charter" that will endure beyond administrations and election cycles.

"For nearly two decades, Vision 2030 has provided our nation with a shared sense of direction. It has guided reforms, inspired investment, and shaped Kenya’s development journey. But every national vision eventually reaches its sunset. As Vision 2030 approaches its conclusion, the responsibility now falls upon our generation to imagine what comes next."

Other leaders present during the church service are PS Julius Bitok, Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Uasin Gishu women representative Gladys Sholei, and the area Governor Jonathan Bii, among others