Why Vision 2060 must be kept out of politics

The review of a long-term national development blueprint such as Vision 2030 is a routine, yet profoundly important exercise for any administration. President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza Government find themselves at the centre of this historic milestone simply because they are in office at a time when Vision 2030 is approaching its conclusion.

Planning for a post-Vision 2030 blueprint has little to do with the current administration and everything to do with the people of Kenya. Like Vision 2030 before it, the next long-term development agenda should emerge from a highly participatory, consultative and inclusive process involving international and local experts, ordinary Kenyans, and stakeholders from every part of the country.

The President's call for a national conversation on a post-Vision 2030 blueprint is, in principle, a welcome initiative. On the face of it, one would wonder why opposition leaders would oppose such a process and why many Kenyans have shown little enthusiasm for it.

Part of the answer lies in the prevailing political environment.

In recent weeks, the President has come under sustained political pressure from the opposition. This has been compounded by the UDA Party's loss in the Ol Kalou by-election, a result that has sparked anxiety within the ruling party.

• Kenya's health reforms on track to curb maternal mortality, Ruto says
• Doctors say US Ebola quarantine centre to pose biosecurity threat to Kenyans
• PS Muthoni defends SHA, blames politics for low uptake in Kitui

The aftermath of the by-election saw what many perceived as attempts to shift public attention, including UDA Secretary-General's attacks on former President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Kikuyu community, as well as Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale's inflammatory remarks targeting Kikuyus. Although the President publicly downplayed the significance of the loss, the prevailing mood across the country suggests that financial muscle alone may no longer be the decisive factor in the 2027 General Election.

Coming on the heels of these developments, the President's special State of the Nation Address focusing on a post-2030 Vision has inevitably been viewed by many through a political lens. Whether intended or not, the timing has created the impression that the conversation is also meant to shift public discourse away from the administration's declining public approval.

Similarly, many Kenyans may not have taken the President's proposal as seriously as it deserves. The trust deficit between the Government and the public has widened considerably. A growing list of unfulfilled promises, coupled with the public ridicule embodied in the nickname "Mr. Six Months", has made it increasingly difficult for the President to inspire confidence. More fundamentally, many citizens believe that the Government's policies have fallen short of the aspirations embodied in the "Hustler Nation" promise and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

As a result, Kenya risks losing a historic opportunity to hold a genuinely consultative and non-partisan national conversation about Vision 2060. The proposal has come at a time when the country remains deeply polarised, when many young people, who will ultimately inherit that future, feel excluded from national decision-making, and when the country is already entering an election cycle.

Consequently, the moment risks being consumed by political rhetoric rather than producing a blueprint that genuinely reflects the aspirations of the Kenyan people. The President should resist the temptation to turn such an important national exercise into a political project. Doing so would only reinforce the growing sense of disappointment that many Kenyans already feel.

Vision 2030 already has an established governance framework, including a Delivery Board chaired by Dr Emmanuel Kombe Nzai, a distinguished economist and policy expert, supported by a dedicated secretariat. At this stage, less than three years before the Vision reaches its target year, a comprehensive implementation review should have been undertaken and presented to the President, outlining the country's progress, achievements and outstanding gaps.

It is from that assessment that the President should constitute a multidisciplinary team of local and international experts, policy think tanks and practitioners to undertake extensive public consultations across the country, gathering views on where Kenyans envision their nation over the next three decades.

Should the President secure a second term, he would then be well placed to lead a bipartisan national conversation towards Vision 2060. It must be abundantly clear that this is not the President's vision for Kenya, nor a campaign project. It is Kenya's vision for Kenya.

That was the spirit behind Vision 2030 under the late President Mwai Kibaki. Years after his passing, Kenyans continue to identify with many of the flagship projects associated with the Vision because they see them as national achievements rather than political monuments.

It is not too late for the President to get this right. Given the prevailing political climate and growing public discontent, he should refrain from making Vision 2060 part of the political contest and instead establish a team to undertake the necessary research, technical studies and nationwide consultations. If re-elected in 2027, he would then be in a position to guide the country through a genuinely inclusive process of developing the new blueprint. Should he not secure another term, he would nevertheless have laid a solid foundation upon which the next administration could build.

That would be the truly selfless thing to do.

- The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a governance practitioner