SPEECH BY HON NAJIB BALALA ON THE OCASSION OF THE LAUNCH OF CORD MANIFESTO AT THE MOI KASARANI SPORTS CENTRE,

NAIROBI, ON 3RD FEBRUARY, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen! We are on a mission to transform Kenya. Jubilee believes in a Kenya that is truly independent and selfreliant. Jubilee believes in Kenyans who are truly free, standing on their own two feet and a nation that is Independent. Our country is on a path of transformation. In Jubilee we believe this transformation will involve all and benefit all. We are a team that believes in an inclusive society. There is much to be proud of in our country, Kenya, but there is still a lot to be done. Together, working as one people and as one nation, we can achieve tremendous progress in all frontiers of development. The Jubilee Alliance is a broad and open tent.

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We welcome all Kenyans to participate in this journey of transforming Kenya to realize the dreams of our forefathers of freedom, security and plenty within our borders. Kenyans of different ethnic groups and cultures. Kenyans of different faith. Kenyans of different age and status in life. All men and women of Kenya with their different attributes, talents and abilities are welcome.

As we continue on this journey, we are conscious of the fact that our role as leaders is to work with you to address poverty and inequality across the country and different social groups. Kenya belongs to all of us. Our diversity is a source of strength rather than of weakness. We shall not allow ourselves to be divided by the colour of our skin, or the language of our tongue, or the faith in our hearts. Indeed, we shall defend the freedoms and liberties of every individual. Jubilee shall protect the freedom of worship, so that all religions and all faiths may flourish on our shores.
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The Jubilee coalition believes that no nation can truly prosper without proper investment in infrastructure. The present Government has made tremendous advances in laying down infrastructure for this country. We need to continue with this trend. One of the flagship projects we intend to implement is a tram service for our major urban areas to ensure that people do not spend precious time and energy walking to work. Our people should instead spend that time and energy in productive activities. This is the hope we have for those who live in areas such as Kibera, Kawangware and Dandora and locations in other cities and urban areas across the country. This is the hope we have for all those workers who needlessly trek to work. The Jubilee Government will relentlessly work to unlock the potential of our natural resources such as the Kilindini Harbor in Mombasa and by doing so raise the standards of living for our people. We will make Mombasa a free port thus ensuring that the gateway to Eastern and Central Africa is also a final destination for trade and commerce. A Free Port will provide unparalleled business and employment opportunities. The Free Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai for
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example, employs over 160,000 people, contributes to Dubais GDP at the rate of 25% annually. Jebel Ali is home to over 6,400 companies, including over 120 of the Fortune 500 enterprises. This is the scale of ambition we have for Mombasa. The Jubilee Government will also focus on airport infrastructure. Our airports are often used as transit points by travelers from West, Central and Southern Africa on their way to the middle and Far East trade centers. There is no reason why this situation should remain the same. Fellow Kenyans! We will pay special attention to transport on our water ways. The agony of crossing the Likoni Channel by our ferries is historically been risky and inefficient. The wanton loss of life at ferry crossing point in Mombasa is a matter of great public shame. Every single death is a death too many. The ferry infrastructure in our country is a matter of concern for the Jubilee Alliance. It is an infrastructure that belongs to the past.

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We are committed to put up alternative infrastructure such as a bridge or tunnel between the mainland to the island of Mombasa. If in Europe they can build a tunnel between England and France, why can we not build one across the Likoni Channel which is only a 500 meters stretch? Bridging the channel or building a tunnel across it will ease transport and significantly, open the vast economic potential of the neighboring County of Kwale. Adequate and safe transport infrastructure will have remarkable impact on Tourism, a sector that is close to my heart and even closer to the heart of our Presidential candidate, my brother Uhuru Kenyatta. Tourism has the potential to transform Kenya but we must transform tourism first. The three greatest challenges to the development of tourism are insecurity, infrastructure and marketing. My fellow colleagues will elaborate on these challenges in greater detail. Let me then first state that we greatly value our domestic tourists who continue to support the sector even in the most difficult of times. Jubilee is also committed to encouraging tourists from the

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African continent and expand to other non traditional markets of the Far East. Kenya is an ideal tourist destination. We have unequalled wildlife heritage. One of the eight wonders of the natural world, the wildebeest migration, occurs every year, right here in our country. The scientific world reckons that human beings settled first on Kenyan soil. Our Coast has pristine and beautiful beaches. We have breathtaking landscape particularly in the Rift Valley and other amazing varieties. Kenya is a beautiful product and we have the potential to radically increase our arrivals from our current 1.5 million visitors a year. In contrast, Malaysia attracts at least 30 million visitors ever year while mature destinations such as France are able to attract more than 70 million visitors in a single year. Currently, tourism accounts for only 9% of the country's formal employment and a modest 10%of GDP.

I understand this sector.

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Through the integrated efforts of the Jubilee Government we shall transform this sector so that it becomes a champion of growth to the Kenyan economy. The Jubilee Government will revamp the marketing of tourism to ensure that in the next five years, the country meets the target of 3 million foreign tourists a year.

The Jubilee Alliance does not view tourism as distinct from commerce, sports, or for that matter job creation. All these aspects of life are closely linked and deeply intertwined. Those who come to Kenya for business, for education, for conferences or other human endeavors should also be able to enjoy what the country has to offer as a tourist destination. It is this holistic understanding of tourism that we shall market.

Increase in tourism will create jobs for our youth, income for farmers, opportunities for our artists, revenue for tour companies and hotels, and above all, wealth for our people.

We shall provide incentives to those in willing to invest in tourism facilities such as hotels and conference facilities. Above all we
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shall make sustained investments in the marketing of tourism and commerce.

Our policies to promote tourism and commerce will be integrated with our policies on security, infrastructure growth, trade, agriculture and the development of the arts.

We are in a new era, the digital age and this country has the potential to embrace ICT as a major driver for our economy.

ICT development will be a subject of focus but it will also be an enabler to all other sectors.

In the last 10 years, developments in the telecommunications sector have become a great success story in Kenyas economy. There are now 27 million mobile phones in the country. Over a third of the population has internet access. It is noteworthy that Kenya has led the world in M-Pesa, mobile cash transfer. We are marching towards becoming Africas high-tech capital and creating
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a Silicon Savannah of interconnected telecommunication hubs to power our growing economy. Over the last 5 years Kenya has put in place much of its ICT infrastructure, including 5 new fiber optic cables, as well as a new policy and legal framework. The Jubilee Government will increase human resource capacity in ICT through improved ICT education in schools and training for teachers. We shall ensure one laptop per school going age child; We shall ensure an E- Government framework for procurement and services; We shall progressively roll out free WI-FI in major towns within the next 5 years; We shall instigate a buy local policy for Government and parastatals, enabling Kenyan ICT companies to become suppliers; and We shall streamline government by creating a single registration system across all Departments

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Ladies and Gentlemen! The Jubilee Government will walk the talk, it will not be business as usual. We will be a transformative leadership for our people that give hope, hands up and not handouts. We are the Digital Coalition and they are the Analogue Coalition. We are on a mission to transform Kenya. We believe in an independent and self-reliant Kenya. AND We believe YAWEZEKENA KUSEMA NA KUTENDA. Thank you and God Bless Kenya.

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