WHAT IS HE THINKING: Uhuru Kenyatta - Is he the dreamer Kenya needs?

When Vision 2030 was launched by President Kibaki in 2008, it set out an ambitious blueprint for a whole new prosperous and globally competitive Kenya. At the time, the idea of transforming our country into an industrialised, middle-income society may have seemed little more than a fanciful hope for the future.

But 2030 is edging ever closer. Fulfilling the vision was always going to depend on individuals beyond the Kibaki administration. It is dependent on those who have long-term aspirations for Kenya and Africa as a whole. It relies upon those who have ambition, confidence and faith in the people of this country. It requires a person with big ideas and the determination to make them happen. In other words, it needs a dreamer. And that man is Uhuru Kenyatta.

In just the past four years, he has proven unquestionably that he can deliver change. In that time, 2.3 million jobs have been created, foreign investment in Kenya has leapt from Sh400 million to Sh1.9 billion, and almost 10,000 kilometres of highways have been paved. That is steady progress, even by the most conservative estimates.

But the key to Uhuru’s leadership, is that he is about so much more than consistent development. He’s thinking big. He’s planning for a future in which Kenya is transformed. The kind of future which was envisaged by those who constructed Vision 2030. Although the Jubilee manifesto has yet to be published, some of the plans that Uhuru has already outlined give an insight into his thinking.

The number of Kenyan households connected to electricity is already unprecedented. But Uhuru wants 70 percent connectivity by the end of this year, 100 percent connectivity within the next three years. Let’s be clear, electricity is not just about convenience. In the most isolated corners of our country, it will open the door to numerous small businesses and it will allow young people to study comfortably into the evening. In short, it will transform countless lives.

And talking of education, Uhuru wants free secondary school education from next January. This is no empty promise – He has already set aside the budget to guarantee schooling from Standard One to Form Four. It means that for the first time in our history, education will no longer depend on privilege, background and means. This egalitarian approach to education will provide untold opportunity, especially given that for the first time ever, all students with the requisite grades will this year be guaranteed a place at university.

Uhuru’s plans for another term in office hit at the very heart of our quality of life as Kenyans. He will introduce measures which allow us to lead longer, healthier lives. What could be a more significant factor in building a brighter future? Already, he has concrete plans to extend the wildly successful free maternal healthcare scheme to the first year of motherhood, protecting mother and baby at their most vulnerable.

And with the development of the Thwake Dam, Chemususu Dam, the Mzima II Pipeline and other projects, Kenyans will have better access to water than ever before. Meanwhile, senior citizens are set to receive more generous cash benefits, ensuring that they can live their golden years in dignity. Under Uhuru, long live Kenyans.

Long live Kenya too. Because some of the projects Uhuru is committed to developing have the potential to change the face of our country forever. The SGR has already become a reality. But Uhuru has already secured the funds to extend the new railway to Kisumu. By completing a track all the way from Mombassa to our western borders, Kenya has the potential to become the trading gateway to East Africa.

Who would have thought that Kenya could ever become an oil-producing country? But under President Kenyatta, this is poised to become a reality. Our oil production is still in its very early stages, but the hard work of the past few years means that an initial 60,000 barrels are ready for export. And early indications are that Kenyan oil is of very high quality. Already, there has been significant foreign cash ploughed into our oil production, attracting investors to Turkana and nearby counties. But oil has the potential to transform not just Turkana, but the entire country, propelling us onto the global stage as an energy-rich country.

Kenyans will go to the polls in August. They should vote not only on the basis of Kenya’s progress. On this, Uhuru has surely already won. The electorate should be guided by something bigger and more ambitious. They should ask who can create a new reality for our country, who can usher Kenya into a new-found era of prosperity. Jomo Kenyatta dreamed of independence and delivered it. Now Uhuru has a vision for Kenya’s future in 2030 and beyond. He is the dreamer we need today.