Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has called on Kenyans to observe peace before, during and after the general elections.

Munya said the country has a robust constitution which can address any emerging differences amongst Kenyans through the right channels instead of resorting to violence.

“Our constitution affirms the rights of all Kenyans. It has also addressed social, economic and political imbalances that every successive government ought to implement so as to address the shortcomings that at times stir violence,” said Munya, whose speech was delivered by PS, Dr. Francis Owino, Fisheries and Blue Economy. 

The three-day conference dubbed “The Role of Universities, Public and Private Sectors in Peace Building for Socio-economic Development” has brought together stakeholders in government and private sector with the aim of creating focus on the best paradigms needed to entrench peace, security, socio-economic and political development.

More than 500 delegates are attending the Second International Peace, Security and Social Enterprise (ICPSSE) Conference both physically and virtually.

In his speech, Munya lauded the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) as the best education programme that will enable the country to tap into the changing job market dynamics across the world.

Munya said several international ICT companies continue to express their interest in investing in Kenya and as such the CBC curriculum will help in channelling human resource capital to the ICT market.

“CBC is meant to prepare learners to be ICT-compliant. We need to emulate China which has continued to grow its human resource capital by embracing ICT and this has attracted over 130 ICT companies to the country because of assurance of human capital. We can be able to achieve this through CBC,” Munya said in a speech read by Fisheries and Blue Economy PS Francis Owino.

MKU Pro-Chancellor, Dr Vincent Gaitho urged Kenyans to shun intolerance and antagonism during the electioneering period and instead embrace peace for posterity.

“It is clear voting happens on a single day. It is just an event. People should be able to go back to their businesses (immediately after. Children should be able to go to school without fearing that the prevailing peace will collapse,”  said Dr Gaitho.

Elections, he emphasized, shouldn’t lead to social disruptions and unnecessary tensions which are likely to have a long-lasting effect on the economy.

“This is an excellent platform to examine past and current approaches to peace with a view of identifying viable options to address the emerging challenges that threaten national security and well-being of humanity,” he said.

On Thursday the delegates will cover the role of international partners and NGOs in supporting peace initiatives while on Friday they will discuss the place of the public and private sectors in safeguarding peace. 

MKU has been hosting the peace conference every election year to inspire sober discourse in the country during political competitions.

Some of the keynote speakers during the conference include  Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, the Chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), Prof Bitange Ndemo, Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium, Ms Carole Kariuki, the CEO of Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), Daystar University Vice-Chancellor Dr Laban Ayiro, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) director, Dr Charles Ong’ondo, Prof Hubert Gijzen, UNESCO Regional Director among others.