H.E The Governor Dr David Nkedianye reads out his speech to mark 2016 Madaraka day celebrations.
HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT,
THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND THE TEAM OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT,
HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF OUR ESTEEMED ASSEMBLY,
HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND SERVICE BOARD,
ALL OTHER OFFICERS FROM THE COUNTY & NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
THE EXEMPLARY CITIZENS OF OUR COUNTY,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN;
Fifty-three years ago today Kenya regained its self-rule after a long period of painful struggle. It is a great privilege to join you today as we celebrate our attainment of freedom and internal self-rule. I wish to extend warm greetings to all Kajiado County residents and the country at large. I want to thank the general public who out of patriotism and a great sense of selflessness has come out in great numbers to celebrate this historic day. This day truly evokes emotions of our struggle that culminated in our freedom and independence from colonial oppression. Today is the anniversary of an event that changed the course of our country for the better. We stand here today as citizens of this beloved county to recognize the efforts of men and women who sacrificed their all for the sake of our freedom.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this Madaraka day, I call on every resident to remain steadfast because our county is indeed making progress. I bring to you today, a message of renewed hope and faith in the immense possibilities that lie ahead of us. During my inaugural speech as Kajiado County Governor, I pledged to serve the people of Kajiado County with total dedication, upholding the principle of honesty, integrity and impartiality. Once again I give you my unwavering commitment.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Looking back from where we are coming from and to where we are heading as a nation, this day should engage our generation in a dialogue on the essence of our freedom. This day appropriately embraces discussions on our heroes, role models and our vision as a nation. We need to link our past with the present and future realities. As our freedom fighters fought to free themselves from imperialism and all manner of oppression, this day is a reminder to the current generation that the battle is still on. This day reminds us all that every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; it requires tireless exertions and passionate concerns of a dedicated people.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;
As a county we take pride in the fact that the new constitution has brought about change that will let everyone of us to taste the fruits of our freedom. As we look back at the journey so far, clearly the achievements did not come by our strength alone; the grace of God has led us through the toughest of times. We have experienced setbacks and often missed opportunities to take advantage of what is at our disposal. But instead of lamenting what we have failed to achieve, we ought to be grateful for the distance we have travelled as we stay focused on what is to come. On contemporary issues that have a bearing on our democratic space, I wish to comment on the issue of the IEBC. It is a crucial that this country commits to dialogue as that is surest way of avoiding imminent divisions that are haunting our country.
Fellow Kenyans;
We all appreciate that education is a vital human right and plays a key role in human, social, and economic development. It is however unfortunate that fifty-three years after independence illiteracy levels are still high. To address this concern, my Government is committed to building a strong education foundation of our children because we know education can put people on a path towards good health, empowerment and employment. This has been demonstrated in our efforts to ensure increased access to early childhood education. The number of Early Childhood centers constructed and equipped so far and the total number of caregivers recruited to date is clear evidence of this commitment. Beside the extensive support to ECDE, the County Government has also increased its support to other areas of education within its mandate and beyond. We have equally invested heavily in skills development through the upgrading and equipping of our polytechnics as part of our strategy to unlocking the potential of self-employment. Our young people can now opt to go for specialized skills and create for themselves opportunities to be agents of economic change in the county.
Esteemed Citizens of Our County;
Good infrastructure is critical to our development and directly affects the performance of other sectors. As a government we have put a lot of efforts and attention to improving our infrastructure because we know that lack of infrastructure causes production bottlenecks for sustainable growth and poverty alleviation. The grading and murraming of our roads have helped to improve the quality of life for many. However, following the just-ended heavy rains in the country, many roads have been damaged making accessibility to some areas impossible. Indeed, poor roads are taking a toll on business and making our towns unattractive for investments. This has necessitated a critical search for immediate remedies as we work as long term solutions. In some instances we are working closely with the National government in carrying out repair and maintenance work that would go along way in improving the situation.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
A healthy population is a big asset to any Nation’s productivity. My Government is investing a lot of resources in both preventive and curative healthcare. In the last three years, we have established regular essential drug supply to all health facilities across the County. In addition, the aggressive recruitment and deployment of healthcare workers is a focused effort to remain on course in building capacity and the implementation of our County Health Master Plan. As a County government, our commitment to this is shown by the fact that we continue to spend the highest amount of our budget on health.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;
This Madaraka Day being the Fourth (4th) since the inception of a devolved system of government marks an important milestone. I wish to challenge every citizen in the County to join hands and do our best in making this County the best. As a Government, we will continue working hard to fulfill our promise to you. As the citizens of this county you need to reflect on the gains of Madaraka and help in providing oversight to all systems and structures for the good of our County.
Esteemed members of the County;
On land matters, we continue to face challenges as there has been a very large backlog of shoddy work in the land sector. Very many of our RIM are still not updated. We are working on these issues. The good news is that our plots’ registry is now a lot cleaner and the number of new land complaints has gone down.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Madaraka Day should help us identify what we have in common (our survival and prosperity as individuals and as a county) and what has potential to derail our growth and collectively work towards achieving our goal(s) while diminishing that which negates these possibilities. We are banking on your support as we enhance our partnership with various agencies with the view of touching lives. We shall be working against the objectives of our founding fathers if we do not eliminate any social vices that work against our development. We shall together perish if we do not collectively work to identify our challenges and adequately address them now and for posterity.
Ladies and gentlemen;
As I conclude, I call upon all to rededicate our energies to the development of our county. Improving the socio-economic status of our people is a daunting task. It requires concerted efforts and partnerships with all of us. Although politics occupies a crucial aspect of our county discourse, emphasis must be placed on the socio-economic empowerment of our people. I wish to appeal to all citizens of this great County to remain united and embrace the spirit of hard work, selflessness and patriotism so that together we build a County that future generations will be proud of. Our unity of purpose and unwavering support to your Government will deliver the pre-devolution dream for a dignified life for all our citizens.
God bless Kajiado County and our Country Kenya.