Nyoro: Why Vision 2060 may not match Vision 2030

President William Ruto. [File,Standard]

 

Former Kiambu Governor James Nyoro has criticised President William Ruto's Vision 2060 blueprint, saying it lacks bipartisan support and comes as Kenya faces worsening economic conditions.

Speaking during an interview on KTN on Monday, August 3, Nyoro said the country should first reform the agriculture and energy sectors to reduce manufacturing costs before pursuing a new long-term development plan.

“The conditions that are supposed to propel us to economic growth that leads to better social growth are really not there,” observed Nyoro.

“I think the discussion on Vision 2060 is misplaced right now because if you look at Vision 2030 it was bipartisan. Everyone was involved. It was also the time Raila Odinga was brought into the government,” added Nyoro.

United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Director of Communications Nathaniel Mong'are rejected Nyoro's assessment, saying Kenya has made democratic progress, including protecting freedom of expression and ensuring peaceful transfers of power between administrations.

“The UDA government inherited a heavy debt burden and limited fiscal space, forcing it to adopt alternative financing mechanisms to sustain development,” explained Mong'are.

He said economic challenges had slowed implementation of Vision 2030 but argued the government remained committed to delivering development.

However, Communist Party Marxist-Kenya (CPMK) Secretary-General Booker Omole disputed Mong'are's assessment, saying Kenya had failed to strengthen democratic space, citing abductions and killings.

“Without fundamental changes in the structure of the Kenyan economy the Vision 2030 failed and Vision 2060 will surely fail,” argued Omole.

Omole said Vision 2030 benefited the elite while leaving much of the country underdeveloped.

Kenya launched Vision 2030 in 2008, under President Mwai Kibaki and then-Prime Minister Raila Odinga to transform the country into a newly industrialising, middle-income nation.

Ruto unveiled Vision 2060 during his State of the Nation address on Thursday, July 30, saying Vision 2030 had fallen short of its targets.

He said the new blueprint aims to transform Kenya into a prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation.

The president said public consultations on Vision 2060 will begin on August 12, to develop a long-term national development charter intended to outlast successive administrations and election cycles.