Four years down the line what is the biggest regret you have so far?
It took longer than it should have to do the reorganization of the security forces. That was something that, ultimately, once we did it and we got a new team and greater cooperation among security actors, that has seen a positive impact. You can see improved levels of security and our ability to deal with terrorism and other such issues.
What are the most important achievements you have been able to realise so far?
I would put that in the health sector, in education, where we have increased capitation for schools, and something else I would not want to mention right now. The issue of free maternity is very dear to me, titling of land, ultimately delivering digital learning devices to our children and doubling electricity connections from 32 per cent when I took over to 60 per cent connectivity today. Those, among other issues, are dear to my heart.
What has been the most limiting aspect of your presidency?
Implementing the new system of government. Although we have done very well, its has been very challenging implementing news structures of government.
But at the end of the day when we see it work it is also gratifying, especially because it is my administration that is rolling it out.
Let us talk about corruption: How do you describe your fight against graft?
I think we have done well. I’m not saying we have overcome the vice, but we have taken a bold view on corruption. We are not brushing anything under the carpet.
You people in the media will acknowledge that whenever issues have risen we have tackled them and where people have been accused, even those who have been members of my Cabinet,
or have been Principal Secretaries, we have had to let them go.
This is something that never used to happen. We have over 300 cases currently before the judiciary. My prayer now is that the judiciary will be able to do their part and finalise the judicial process as quickly as possible.
With regard to asset seizures, again, for the first time in the history of this republic, we have also gone to the next level of not just arresting and arraigning suspects in court, but also seizing assets acquired as a result of corruption.
We have an inter-agency team now which has really helped us in terms of fast-tracking issues of investigation and prosecution. We have a bribery Bill that we have signed into law that brings in the private sector. So we are not just targeting the taker but also the giver.
So we know we have not won the war, but we have made major strides in terms of combating corruption and we call on Kenyans and our other partners to join us in this fight. Instead of always being critical, let us recognise what has been done.
I keep telling our colleagues in the opposition that if you have any evidence on any graft cases, please take it to the relevant agencies. Do not even bring it to me. You can’t just keep shouting and talking and when asked for evidence you have none to give.
Let us be real, because this fight does not belong to government alone. It belongs to every single Kenyan. We must work together to ensure that we eliminate this vice of corruption from our system.
Will you run again next year?
Yes I would. I definitely would. I think the achievements we have been able to achieve over a very short span of time have been tremendous.
The fact that we have been able to implement a whole new constitution in three months, possibly 90 per cent of it with only a few laws remaining and managing to transfer functions to the counties and to fund them, despite the difficulties, is truly tremendous.
Yes, there are still some challenges to do with corruption, but, overall, I will run again because I believe that Kenya has made very big strides in a very short span of time.
We are talking about all these things happening in an environment where we are changing a whole system of governance brought in by the 2010 constitution.
Devolution was a key promise. What remains to be done?
I think we have been able to roll this out fairly well. What remains is for the respective governments to strengthen their systems. We have been able to transfer one trillion shillings since we took over. Now that one trillion shillings is a huge amount of money.
It is equivalent to, eight years ago, two years of our national budget. I think we need to be able to get our county governments to focus on better management of better resources so as to ensure that those resources are not going to fund recurrent mainly but more go to development. That was the essence of devolution.
We were not devolving recurrent expenditure. That is not what Kenyans wanted. They want the ability to develop communities across the country but not to serve a few individuals.
If you were to change anything in terms of the way the devolved governments have been ran so far, what would that be?
First and foremost I would have them put more resources in development, projects that have an impact on the common mwananchi.
Secondly, their own ability to get more revenue from their own sources so that they become self-sustaining. Five percent of their revenue coming from their own sources as is the case at the moment, is very unsustainable.
Take, for example, Nyandarua county; do you have the governor come to me and say we need your help, we need you to come help us get a pyrethrum plant up and running, to get this and that. I asked the governor, my friend that is your responsibility because agriculture is a devolved function.
You should have used part of your foreign trips to engage these individuals to come help set up this plant. This is your role. It is your responsibility. Focus on that and less on these other trappings that you people have.
We devolved so that the counties could focus on those areas that they felt were previously neglected by the national government. If pyrethrum is important to you, or potatoes are, get your people around there, focus and put the investments on those areas. Focus.
What is the problem, Mr President: Is it the law, or did we simply elect the wrong people?
You can never tell people that they elected the wrong leaders - because Kenyans made the choice. But as we continue to move, people are also learning to be able to discern what kind of leaders they want to choose for themselves.
I also say it is part of the learning curve and I do not want to blame anybody. This is the first time we have had this system.
People are learning, people are growing and that is why this is not
revisable.
I would not say we have made any mistake, but rather that we are going through the learning curve and as the years go by things will become better, and once we stop going for bench-marking tours.
What do you miss most?
I miss kutembea mutaani and eating nyama choma at those places we used to meet and hang out with ordinary Kenyans.