Wednesday, 15th March 2017

Your Excellency, Hon.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Parliament, Article 132(1)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya requires the President to address a Special Sitting of the Parliament of Kenya once every year and at any other time.

Further, Article 132(1)(c) requires the President to, among others, once every year, report, in an address to the nation, all the measures taken and the progress achieved in the realisation of the national values, set out in Article 10, and submit a report for debate to the National Assembly on the progress made in the fulfilment of international obligations of the Republic.

In addition, Article 240(7) of the Constitution requires the President to report to Parliament annually on the state of the security of the Republic.

In this regard, Hon. Members, following a request from His Excellency the President and pursuant to Article 132(1)(b) and (c)(i) and (ii) of the Constitution and the provisions of Standing Order No.22(1) and (2) of the National Assembly, by Gazette Notice No.2189, which was published in the Kenya Gazette on 10th March 2017, I gave notice of this Special Sitting to the Members of the National Assembly.

Similarly, pursuant to Article 132(1)(b) and (c)(i) and (ii) of the Constitution and the provisions of Standing Order No.22(1) and (2) of the Senate Standing Orders, by Gazette Notice No.2190, which was published in the Kenya Gazette on 10th March 2017, the Speaker of the Senate gave notice of this Special Sitting to the Senators. Accordingly, Hon. Members, this Special Sitting is properly convened.

It is now my singular honour and privilege to invite His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya to address this Special Sitting of Parliament.

Your Excellency!

Dear Kenyans, Speakers of both Houses of Parliament, Hon. Members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we celebrate an extraordinary Kenyan journey; four years of transformation of growth and, indeed, the deepening of our democracy. I want to take this opportunity to salute and congratulate each and every Kenyan today for staying true to our solemn duty to protect, preserve and promote our Constitution. Because of you, Kenya remains an oasis of peace and prosperity. Because of you, our country stands tall in the community of nations. Today, we celebrate a transformed Kenya.

At the heart of this momentous change is, without doubt, Parliament. The 11th Parliament, which I liken to our first Parliament at Independence, has undertaken a historic task of establishing a new constitutional order and legislating its fundamental instruments.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) obliged to explain to Kenyans what we have done with the mandate bestowed on us. It is my pleasure, therefore, to lay before this Joint Sitting of Parliament, and pursuant to Articles 10, 132 and 240 of our Constitution, reports regarding the state of our national security, measures taken and progress achieved in the realisation of national values, and to the National Assembly, a

report on the progress made in fulfilling our international obligations. Since taking my oath of

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Indeed, one of my proudest achievements as President has been to chaperone the implementation of a devolved system of government. My administration has gone over and beyond the constitutional requirement by increasing the percentage of sharable revenues from the 15 per cent required by the Constitution to 34 per cent.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) all the more significant in light of her being a frontier State against global terrorism. Furthermore, our location in a fragile, conflict-prone region whose challenges are transnational, means that our ability to secure the nation is fundamental to achieving our collective aspirations.

In 2011, we made a historic decision. We sent our young men and women across the border in pursuit of an enemy dedicated to the destruction of our region and our motherland. Since then, and in collaboration with regional as well as international allies, we have robbed the enemy of territory, resources and control over people. Still the threat remains. Therefore, we continue with our mission in Somalia. We know that if we fight the enemy in Somalia, we will not have to fight them here at home. Our engagement as part of AMISOM has yielded significant successes. We have degraded the capacity of Al-Shabaab to carry out large-scale attacks in Kenya and elsewhere. Our efforts together have led to the establishment of successive civilian governments in Somalia, including the recently concluded successful, peaceful election and transition to President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

Fellow Kenyans, in defence of our motherland, and in fulfilling our international obligations to pursue peace and security, we have in the process lost some of our gallant officers. These loses remind us every day of the threat that is upon us. I stand here today to say that these gallant sons and daughters of Kenya have not fallen in vain. Their sacrifice for our freedom and our homeland strengthen our resolve. We shall remain unbowed; Kenya shall prevail and our democracy will endure.

Before I continue, I would kindly request that we all be upstanding for a moment of silence to honour our men and women in uniform who face the enemy daily and who have pledged their lives to protect the sovereignty, freedom and liberty espoused by our nation.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) actions. We have built a well-co-ordinated multi-agency approach to ensure public safety and security. We have invested in better equipment, training and working tools.

We have also increased the number of police officers. It will be remembered that in the Jubilee Manifesto, we promised to push the ratio of police officers below one officer for every 800 citizens. Today, I am pleased to report that we have kept our promise. Our ratio of police to the population is one officer for 380 citizens, better than the prescribed United Nations (UN) ratio of one officer for every 450 citizens.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) In the last four years, my administration has worked hard to make Kenya an attractive destination for investment. I wish to reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and to assure all domestic and foreign investors that we, as a nation, are open for business. I do appreciate that the drought we are currently experiencing has adversely impacted a significant portion of our population and more so our pastoral communities whose livestock lack pasture and water.

To our elected leaders at all levels, I urge you to work with both the national administration as well as the county governments to ensure that all our people have access to drought resistance packages availed by the Government, including the livestock offtake programme that was recently launched.

(The President was given a glass of water by an officer from the Sergeant -At-Arms) Asante mum. Wewe ndiwe umenikumbuka. Thank you.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Hon. Members, we have kept the promise. Also, due to the establishment of factories for the manufacturing of steel-reinforced sleepers and T-beams, small towns like Kathekani in Mtito Andei and Emali are experiencing an economic boom. Indeed, I take this opportunity to invite you, Hon. Members, to join me in June, as we ride the inaugural train from Mombasa to Nairobi.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) For Jacob Shirandula of Fubuye village in Malava, and Nancy Ekeno of Ogilgei village in Njoro, being connected to the grid has changed their lives for the better alongside that of millions of other Kenyans. We have kept the promise.

In 2013, we promised to connect electricity to all public primary schools by 2017. Today, having connected an additional 14,045 schools representing over 98 per cent of all public primary schools in the country, we have kept that promise.

In the health sector, we promised to upgrade our public hospital facilities. Prior to 2013, only four referral hospitals had such equipment. Four years later, through the Innovative Managed Equipment Service Programme, I am pleased to say that 92 hospitals across all counties have now been equipped with modern diagnostic equipment.

For example, I have the uplifting story of Jackson Wamai, a 28-year old secondary school teacher in Murang’a who was diagnosed with kidney failure five years ago. He used to travel twice a week to Nairobi for dialysis at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). He was almost dismissed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for absenteeism. Today, thanks to the upgrade done at Murang’a Level 5 Hospital, he now travels 20 minutes for his dialysis sessions and is able to properly serve his students. We have kept that promise.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Further, through the innovative digital platform E-Citizen, over three million Kenyans have successfully paid to access 197 different public services. These are services like, passport applications, visa applications, driving licence renewals, vehicle registration, business registration, company searches and, applications for certificates of good conduct, amongst others. This is a promise that we have kept.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) over the last four years has seen the cumulative addition of 2.3 million new jobs. From this perspective, the state of our economy is robust.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) economy. We have discussed with them and agreed on joint measures to take in pursuit of peace and stability. They have also been eager to ensure that their countries’ companies have access to an economy they believe has a bright future. On my part, I have engaged them here at home, and abroad, to advance my administration’s economic diplomacy strategy. From India, we have secured equipment and the expertise to establish a new cancer centre at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Additionally, that engagement with India has allowed us to give the farmers in semi- arid areas like Embu, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni and Tharaka a ready Indian market of 1 billion people to which they can export beans, lentils and peas.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) often quoted companies that have either relocated for corporate strategic reasons or downsized and closed for lack of competitiveness.

To the members of the diplomatic corps who have joined us here today, and to their colleagues in their capitals, know this: Your friendship is important to the Kenyan people who have always lived in peace with their neighbours and with a national consensus to do good in the world. We work hard for security within our country and are honest brokers in helping secure the peace for every country in our region that needs our help. We appreciate your support, both moral and material.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P)

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Kenyan. It is underway, and the great promise of uplifting more of our people into the middle class will be achieved. What we must do, to achieve this shared prosperity, is to stay the course and continue building on our achievements so far.

I believe that history will remember this period as the turning point when Kenya became a leading investment destination in the world, and the newest entrant into large-scale manufacturing.

Fellow Kenyans, I note that Kenya will conduct its general elections in August this year. Elections are nothing new to Kenyans. We are one of the few African countries that have had regular elections since Independence without fail. We are an icon of democracy, a bastion of freedom, a haven of safety where freedom of expression flourishes but we must be mindful that democracy is a fragile state and we need to protect it.

I wish to assure the nation that my Government is committed to a free and fair election. The process of preparation for the election is well underway. Parliament passed legislations to improve the management of the electoral process. These include the Election Offences Act No.37 of 2016, to manage election offences; the Political Parties (Amendment) Act No.14 of 2016 to improve management of the Political Parties Fund, among others.

My Government has also enacted laws to enhance transparency and accountability of the electoral process and enacted the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No.36 of 2016 and the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No.1 of 2017. We wish, at this juncture, to also request the Judiciary that they do not act as a stumbling block to our ability to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

As we approach the polls, I wish to remind Kenyans to uphold peace and remain united. Elections are a one-time event but Kenya is larger than all of us and shall, and must remain. Those seeking political office must desist from any utterances that may divide Kenyans along ethnic, religious or other lines. Further, I urge citizens to exercise tolerance before, during and after the elections.

As we approach the polls, I wish to remind Kenyans to uphold peace and remain united. Elections after all are a one-time event but Kenya is larger than all of us, and shall and must remain.

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017(P) Hon. Speakers, Members, fellow Kenyans, we must continue marching forward to build a prosperous Kenya, a Kenya that resonates with the dreams of our founding fathers; a Kenya that is stable and secure and a Kenya whose people are united in their ambitions and determination.

Hon. Members, I have worked every day of my first term to put us in a position to make this leap. The Kenyan people have driven this process every step of the way. It is your vision of transformation, rooted in your daily needs of good jobs and rising incomes that I am pursuing. Together, we can change our country and change our lives. That is the single goal Jubilee serves, and I urge all Kenyans to join me in delivering another term of people-focused governance, boldness of vision and hard work as we rise ever higher.

I thank you all for your attention. May God bless you and may God bless Kenya. Asanteni sana

Hon. Members, you may be upstanding. Your Excellency the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Senators, Hon. Members of the National Assembly, it is now time to adjourn the Senate. The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 28th March, 2017, at 2.30 p.m.

Order Members! Your Excellency the President, Speaker of the Senate, Hon. Members, it is my honour to now adjourn the National Assembly to Thursday, 16th March, 2017, at 2.30 p.m.

House rose at 4.30 p.m.