UN agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have endorsed the government’s development plan, saying it is poised to make Kenya an economic powerhouse in Africa.
They have offered to mobilise resources and work together with the government in transforming the country.
"We are now dealing with our past shortcomings. It will be business unusual from January so that we address almost all the needs that would make Kenya better," said the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Siddharth Chatterjee said.
He said intensified public-private partnership, innovations and technology would be the main drivers of the renewed efforts to working with the government in implementing its development plan.
Chatterjee spoke on Tuesday in Karen during a UN agencies' meeting with Deputy President William Ruto.
The agencies included the World Health Organisation, Food and Agricultural Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Human Rights and the World Food Programme.
Others were the World Meteorological Organisation, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the United Nations Population Fund, the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the International Labour Organisation.
"If we work together, we would be able to launch Kenya into the upper middle-income country like Nigeria and South Africa," Chatterjee said.
UNDP Country Director Amanda Serumaga said for synergy to be created with minimal hiccups, the government should marry governance with the Big Four agenda.
"We laud the government for its efforts to boost transparency and the arrest of public resources leakages and misuse. This would ensure that funds are put only in projects that would have value to Kenyans," Serumaga said.
FAO representative in Kenya Gabriel Rugalema said UN agencies will ensure that the economic pillar of their development plans lead to job creation, increased income, boost food security and eventually translate to gross domestic product growth.
However, Rugalema said it may not all be rosy in their new plan to prop up the government’s development agenda.
He said most of the UN funding today is project-based, and, therefore, there may be a need for a new funding model to be formulated.
DP Ruto lauded the agencies for their support, saying the government was committed to cutting on wastage and abuse of public resources
"We would come up with a structure that would ensure that there is a regular monitoring so that we can assess progress," he said.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the improved business climate in Kenya would catalyse international flows, thereby impact positively on the economy.