Mega infrastructure projects that are ongoing across the country are an indication that Kenya is on course of achieving its Vision 2030 objectives, the delivery unit tasked to implement the development blueprint said on Friday.
Vision 2030 Delivery Board Chairman James Mwangi cited the construction of the standard gauge railway, oil pipeline, power generation and electricity connection to rural homes as some of the deliverables that point to the successes.
He said the works have created more job opportunities which have resulted into the economic empowerment of the masses.
"We are comfortable with the progress of mega flagship projects, with high prospects they would be complete within set timelines, some even earlier," Mwangi said.
"When we started, the GDP per-capita was Sh64,000. As we speak we are on Sh150,000 per-capita up from Sh126,000 last year," he said.
Per-capita is the average amount of income earned by a person per year and it is calculated by diving the country’s annual income by its total population.
"When we look at the country’s GDP, we were at USD38 billion, (Sh38 trillion) and now we are at USD65 billion (Sh65 trillion)," Mwangi added.
Vision 2030 was launched on June 10, 2008 by retired President Mwai Kibaki and it envisioned catapulting the country into an upper income middle economy by the year 2030.
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During the launch of the nationwide progress awareness campaign dubbed "Tunatimiza" (We will fulfill), Mwangi also listed the Digital Literacy Programme in schools and developments in the health sector as some of the outstanding outcomes.
He cited the recent separation of conjoined twins by doctors at the Kenyatta National hospital as an example of the country’s economic progress.
"It is a major stride in the health care sector and such successes are reported across every aspect of the Vision 2030 pillars," Mwangi said.
The campaign seeks to showcase to Kenyans the strides made in delivering key promises that are outlined in the development plan.
Mwangi, who is also Equity Bank’s CEO, said that ongoing police reforms, devolution and the Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme are other key projects to reckon.
He said that the paving of at least 4000 kilometres of low volume seal roads in rural areas has improved access to social amenities and government services.
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Mwangi noted that Phase 1 of the SGR project, which is more than 75% complete, will further open up new employment avenues.
He said the construction of industrial parks at Mombasa, Voi, Mtito Andei, Nairobi and Naivasha will bolster trade.
"The same will act as tourist attraction sites for passengers on transit thus resulting in numerous benefits," Mwangi said.
He added that plans for Kenya to start small-scale commercial oil production in March 2017 have also have the potential of raking in more foreign income.
"The construction and equipping of a forensic laboratory is almost complete to speed up cases using forensic science," said Mwangi.
Mwangi ruled out fears that the electioneering period may trigger low investor confidence leading to poor business performance.
He said the country currently has a stable and independent judicial system that will shield key projects from election jitters.
"Elections used to be a problem because we didn’t have reliable, credible mechanisms to deal with disputes; these have been tackled to a good extent," said Mwangi.
"Furthermore, World Bank’s projections of a 6.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) are also seen accelerating more activities in the private sector over the election period," said Mwangi.
He added, "This year, tourism has bounced back with a growth rate of 27 per cent in numbers of tourists. Kenya has also overtaken Nigeria and South Africa to be the best destination in Africa that has attracted the highest number of foreign direct investments,"
Mwangi also pointed out that the country’s inflation and exchange rate has stabilized backed by a GDP growth rate of 6.1 per cent in the past six months, just a year to the elections.
His sentiments were echoed by Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore and Vision 2030 Delivery Board .
Collymore said that private sector players were upbeat about increasing investments to push up the number of jobs created in the economy.
"With reports showing 3,000 Kenyans are being born daily, we need to create at least 200 jobs to sustain these numbers. 80% of these jobs will come from the private sector," said Collymore.
Muia said that the projects under the vision are large, complex and long term to avert election cycle jitters.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Monicah Juma affirmed that foreign investors have exuded confidence in long term investments in the local market.
"Kenya has seen an exponential increase in international delegations preferring to tour the country for both business and leisure, and this gives us an assurance that the country is being watched by global players as a key market for investments," said Juma.