SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW MACHAKOS CITY AND INVESTMENT PROGRAMME AT MACHAKOS COUNTY ON 8TH NOVEMBER, 2013 Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to join you today at this important investment forum. I consider the forum important because it fits very well with my Governments development agenda, which, in line with our Vision 2 ! "lueprint, aims to transform #enya to a middle income country by 2 ! . "efore I proceed with my remar$s, let me ta$e this early opportunity to commend %r. &lfred 'utua, the Governor of 'acha$os, for coming up with this noble idea. I encourage the other (ounty Governors to borrow a leaf from 'acha$os (ounty and focus on economic development. Ladies and Gentlemen, )his is the only way we can ensure our people remain confident in devolution as a truly effective instrument to promote lasting socio* economic development, e+uity and national unity. Ladies and Gentlemen, ,ver the last ten years or so, we as a country have made commendable progress towards con+uering disease, illiteracy and hunger, which have been the main goals of our development agenda. -owever, challenges still remain that re+uire serious and bold actions by the .ational Government, wor$ing, of course, with the county governments. /overty is still a major problem with more than fourty percent of our people living under one 01 %ollar per day. 2+ually of concern is the issue of ine+uity and the problem of unemployment, particularly among our youth. )o meaningfully tac$le these development challenges, we have no choice but to grow our economy by no less than 3 4 on average annually for a number of years. &nd to achieve this objective, we have to give a lead role to the private sector to complement government initiatives. )his is why my &dministration has committed itself to promote more investment by the private sector as $ey driver of growth, job creation and poverty reduction. 5e are well aware, for the private sector to invest and therefore effectively play its role in promoting development of our country, the business environment must be right. It is for this reason that my Government is ta$ing

a number of measures, which are intended to create an enabling environment for investment and to reduce the cost of doing business. Let me highlight some of the measures my Government is ta$ing to create an enabling environment. 6irst, we are committed to pursuing prudent fiscal and monetary policy to ensure stability in the $ey macroeconomic prices 7 that is, the general price level, the shilling e8change rate and interest rates. 1econd, we are investing heavily in economic infrastructure, including investment in power generation and transmission, railway and road networ$ countrywide. 6or e8ample, my Government will soon be tendering for the dualing of 'ombasa -ighway from &thi 9iver all the way to #on:a and 'acha$os so as to speed up transportation of goods and people between .airobi and 'acha$os. In addition, we are at advanced stage of beginning the construction of a standard gauge railway line from 'ombasa to .airobi and later to 'alaba. 5e are also planning to e8pand the railway line for passengers all the way to 'acha$os. 5e are also ta$ing measures to enhance clearing of cargo through the 'ombasa /ort and ;omo #enyatta International &irport, in addition to e8panding them. )hird, we are ta$ing bold measures to enhance security, because we $now this is the bedroc$ for sustained socio*economic development. 5e must assure our people and the business community, both domestic and foreign, that their lives and property are protected. 5e $now very well without security, hardly any investment will ta$e place, and, therefore, our dream of a prosperous and e+uitable #enya will remain a mere rhetoric. )o demonstrate our commitment to ensuring security, just yesterday, I launched the first batch of my Governments plan to procure one thousand and one hundred .ational /olice 1ervice motor vehicles. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me reiterate that I am pleased to be here because what is happening here today strongly suggests the full promise of devolution and Vision 2 ! . &ttracting investment and optimising opportunities to improve the lives of our people is a priority of the .ational Government and the (ounty Governments. )his is the way to proceed. 5e must now change our politics to focus on politics of development. 2lections are over and this is now a time to wor$ together, regardless of party affiliations, to change #enya for the better.

'y Government will wor$ with all (ounty Governments to do this in the spirit of our 2 3 (onstitution. #enyans want better services, food security and employment and this will only be achieved if all leaders wor$ together. 'y Government has made the delivery of better public services its core mandate. I wish to reiterate here the pledge that I have previously made that the days of corrupt and inefficient officers are numbered. )his is an era that should be carried down to the county level. )he time for change in the manner we manage our public affairs has come and it is not stoppable. In concluding my remar$s, I want to say to you, the people of 'acha$os, I leave you with the words of 2leanor 9oosevelt< the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. )o you, Governor 'utua, count on my Governments commitment towards supporting your initiatives to transform 'acha$os (ounty. T !"# $%& !"' G%' ()*++ Y%&.