President Uhuru Kenyatta’s achievements stand out

I sent some of my constituents to the government symposium that took place at the KICC and they could not believe how much the government has done in three years. During this four-day forum — that was actually open to the public — every minister attended and discussed candidly with ‘wanjiku’ what their ministry had done since 2013. At the end of the sessions one of those I sent told me ‘lakini CORD wana uwongo mingi!’

Apparently even Jubilee people had started believing when CORD said this government had done nothing. But we cannot blame ‘wanjiku’ for this; until last week the Opposition was ‘her’ only source of information on government progress.

Let us look at the security situation in Kenya today. A year ago Kenya seemed to be getting overrun by terrorists. We were under perpetual terrorist attack. Today, Kenya is more secure than even during the Grand Coalition government. There have been huge investments where over 20,000 police men and women have been recruited, close to 3,000 motor vehicles purchased and distributed to all parts of the country, and for the first time in the country’s security history the police have even been equipped with Armored Personnel Carriers to ensure that they are also safe as they secure us.

The government has set a Command and Control Security Surveillance System and installed CCTV cameras in Nairobi and Mombasa that have enabled the police to monitor and make real-time interventions in crime situations. Let us look at healthcare. We started with controversy as the opposition cleverly pitted the national government against the county governments on the Managed Equipment System (MES) and hospital infrastructure. The issue has since been resolved amicably. Theatre equipment have been installed in 24 hospitals, dialysis equipment in 15 hospitals, Intensive Care Units (ICU) equipment in two hospitals and imaging equipment in 35 hospitals.

Besides the MES Project, 15 MRIs have been installed in various hospitals. Through the Beyond Zero Campaign, 36 mobile clinics have been launched and nine operational portable health clinics put up in Kibera informal settlement through the slum upgrading project. The free maternity programme has increased the number of deliveries in public health facilities from 664,581 to 1,078,955 representing a 62.4 per cent increase. About 17,600 poor households with orphans and vulnerable children and 198,440 elderly people and people with severe disabilities are receiving health services at no cost.

Let us look at agriculture. In the last three years the government has purchased 500,200 metric tonnes of fertilisers valued at Sh11.5 billion and supplied it to over 500,000 households directly and another four million indirectly.

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The government has also subsidised the cost of purchasing fertiliser. Farmers are currently accessing DAP at Sh1,800 compared to a market price of Sh3,300 and CAN at Sh1,500 against a market price of Sh2,600. The overall fertiliser market prices have also reduced from an average of Sh6,000 in 2012 to an average of Sh3,000 in the year 2015/16 besides increased yields where, for instance, maize yields per hectare has increased from 15 bags (90 Kgs)/ha to 22 bags/ha in 2015.

In infrastructure, Jubilee has taken cue from the impressive work done by President Mwai Kibaki. Construction and rehabilitation of 32 national trunk roads translating to 1,702km across the country is almost complete. Another 10,000km of road under the annuity programme is at the advanced stage. The Standard Gauge Railway is ahead of schedule; currently at 70 per cent completion rate and the first train should roll through by June next year. Once complete it will: have created over 25,000 employment opportunities, reduced freight transportation tariff charges by an average of 41.55 per tonne/kilometre, increased rail transport share in the northern corridor, and reduced damage to our roads. JKIA airport has been expanded with both terminal 1A and Terminal 2 complete. This is expected to increase passengers from 8.9 million in 2014/15 to 9.4 million in 2015/16.

On social services, Jubilee facilitated the transition process and operations of the County Government; set up 32 fully operational Huduma Centres, now serving more than 35,000 people a day; actually over 10 million people have been served and Sh12 billion collected as revenue as at June 2015, from these new centres. In energy power connections have increased as electricity costs have reduced. There is a Sh7.6 billion national public street lighting programme that has already covered 11 counties. It is expected to cover all the 52 major towns spread across the 47 counties by the time it is done. Currently, 90 per cent of the 22,599 public schools are now connected to the national grid in readiness for the laptop signature project. Through the last mile connectivity project 4.3 million Kenyans (up from 2.3 million in 2013), have been connected to electricity.

All through, the President has provided critical political leadership and goodwill necessary to get this work done.