SPEECH BY HON CHARITY KALUKI NGILU ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH

OF THE JUBILEE MANIFESTO HELD AT KASARANI STADIUM ON SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 2, 2013

My colleagues and partners in Jubilee, Friends of Jubilee, Fellow Kenyans, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am most privileged to be a witness to the launch of the Jubilee Manifesto. This is a manifesto inspired by the people of Kenya. It is a clear reflection of our peoples aspirations, what should be done to restore their hopes and mend our collective destiny. It is a manifesto that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. It is SMART. This manifesto will transform our country into a cohesive, just and prosperous nation that we all crave for. Dear Kenyans, As you will recall I have consistently advocated for the need to have a country where each one of us can enjoy a decent life. A life that is
1

defined by ability to enjoy the most basic of every human needs of food, good health, shelter, education and a decent wage. In our Jubilee manifesto we have resolved to ensure that all Kenyans enjoy these basic needs. It is a manifesto that seeks to deliver the Basic Needs Revolution. Allow me to highlight on some areas that are close to my heart. These are issues of Women empowerment, Food and water, Health and Education. This is the foundation on which a family and a nation is build. It is a proven fact that any nation that desires true progress must invest in women. Like one Diane Mariechild, in her famous book Mother Wit ably put it and I quote, A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. In designing Jubilees strategies for a transformed Kenya, we were aware that for real change with far-reaching effects to take place in Kenya, we need to summon the courage to create, nurture and transform. And that is why the women of Kenya must be the agenda. Never again will the women of Kenya be cheerleaders. It is unacceptable that in the 21st century Kenyan women are still giving birth by the roadside. In this 21st century our women are still walking long distances to look for water and firewood. We cannot

expect robust economic growth if we still consign our women to Mama Mboga kind of business and token hand-outs. I am proud to be part of the Jubilee government that will ensure inclusion of women in decision making and policy implementation. In this manifesto we will ensure that women enjoy their rights and play their rightful role in developing our great nation. We have outlined a credible plan to ensure that our women who are in business can access credit, training and markets to grow their businesses. Women through their networks and chamas will get the big government contracts so that we can turn our Mama Mbogas to Mama Contractors and Mama Biasharas. In short the Jubilee government will be a women responsive and friendly government. Fellow Kenyans, Looking back, with my experience both as the Minister of Health and also Minister of Water, I have gained valuable insights on the interrelationship between water and good health. For instance the provision of clean drinking water reduces the incidence of disease as much as 80%. The opposite is true as stated in the World Bank report of 2010 that Kenya spends more than 26 billion shillings(324 million USD) every year treating diseases that would have been prevented had people got safe clean drinking water. This is a clear example of wrong priorities.
3

The Jubilee government has prioritized provision of safe clean drinking water and universal healthcare for all Kenyans as a key pillar to ensuring that we have a healthier people who can fully participate in developing our nation. To this end we will ensure that the National Social Health Insurance Scheme is implemented as a first priority. Fellow Kenyans trust me when I say this will be done. Our women will enjoy quality reproductive healthcare services under the Jubilee government.

Ladies and Gentlemen, In the last 10 years our education sector has seen tremendous growth since the introduction of free primary education. However we are still have huge numbers of our young people who drop out of school at very young ages and without skills to even earn a wage. For instance we only have over 7000 secondary schools to serve millions of children who leave primary school. This one aspect alone ensures that we lose a lot of children due to unavailability of space in secondary school. We have a deficit of over 75000 teachers in our schools. This greatly undermines the quality of instruction that our children receive. This is totally unacceptable.

The Jubilee government will set aside money to support the employment of more teachers each year to deal with the teacher
4

shortfall in our schools. We will re-engineer our education system by ensuring that all primary schools are ICT compliant. We will develop infrastructure through a program primary to secondary where we will build a secondary school for each 2 primary schools. We will support each county to develop technical institutions in every ward. We will make our public universities competitive by substantively increasing funding to research and development. In this manifesto we commit ourselves to ensuring that we will keep children below 18 years in school. We will provide skills to those who are out of school and we will make our education responsive to our national needs and international competitiveness. Dear Kenyans, I am proud to be part of a team that will transform the lives of Kenyans. I am confident that with this team, together with the support of all Kenyans, we will actualize the basic needs revolution. We will harness our collective energies of I Believe, Kusema na kutenda and Farasi to ensure that Haki Yetu Sasa Inawezekana! Onward to victory Jubilee! Long live Kenya! Thank you.