President Uhuru Kenyatta today presided over the 59th Madaraka Day celebrations held at Uhuru Gardens Memorial park in Nairobi. This is the last state public event that President Kenyatta presides over as Head of the State with 68 days remaining to the August 9 polls.
Madaraka Day is an annual celebration marked in commemoration of the day Kenya attained self rule from colonial rule.
This year’s event saw President Kenyatta inspect a guard of honour mounted by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) troops and also witnessed a fly past by KDF aeroplanes .The KDF troops also displayed their military prowess by showcasing different kinds of vehicles used in military operations.
The political enemity between the President and his Deputy was on display again during the celebrations after the President failed to recognize him as one of the dignitaries present during the event. After recognition of those present, Uhuru welcomed Sierra Leone President Julius Mada Bio, who was the chief guest to address Kenyans.This was a break from the tradition where select Kenyan leaders from the government and the political arena are called up to give brief remarks.
President Uhuru in his address lauded the sacrifice made by our forefathers who helped Kenya attain self rule.
‘’Madaraka Day is significant in our history because it is on this day in June 1963 that the founding fathers of our nation replaced the outgoing colonial government and formed the first indigenous government of Kenya,” said the Head of State.
The President highlighted how his government dealt with insecurity and terror threats through retooling the security organs and making them capable to address the dynamic contemporary security challenges that the country faces.
He further revealed how his leadership promoted devolution through equitable sharing of revenue to the devolved units and County governments at large. This is visible in the Counties of Makueni, Laikipia, Mandera and many others.
The President highlighted the efforts by his administration in development of infrastructure. He noted that the road network in the country has improved almost 6 times while power generation has grown 40 times and connected more homes to electricity than other African countries.
Furthermore, the President noted that the economy of the nation has grown from being the 12th largest in Africa to being the 6th largest economy and growing. He also said that the wealth of Kenya has tripled from a GDP of 4.5 trillion in 2013, to close to 13 trillion currently.
Other notable development records were highlighted in the field of education with the nation currently transiting from the exam-oriented 8-4-4 system to the skills oriented CBC system. The 100% transition from primary to secondary school was first implemented in Uhuru’s leadership. It is also in Uhuru’s leadership that sanity and integrity was restored in regards to national examination administration. The president also defended national borrowing by stating that countries with developed economies in the world depend on loans. He further revealed that such debts are catalysts for rapid developments if a nation is handled by visionary leaders.
The President finally called on Kenyans to embrace peace and stability over fear, hope over hate, and progress over retrogression in the forthcoming General Elections on 9th August 2022.
By Edi Mulindo