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Banjul-Gambia, June 30, 2006

President Mwai Kibaki addressing the African Peer Review Forum in Banjul, Gambia. With him are Rwanda president Paul Kagame (l) , NEPAD Chairperson President Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria (2nd r) and Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat (r) a lead member of APRM panel of eminent persons.

Good governance a necessary benchmark, President says

President Mwai Kibaki said today that the government was committed to the ideals of good governance and shown a demonstrable will to curtail corruption, corrupt practices and other illegal actions among public officers.

Addressing the African Peer Review Forum in Banjul, Gambia President Kibaki said the government acknowledged that good governance is a necessary benchmark against which the performance of national institutions and total development must be measured.

"Good governance leads to greater efficiency in utilization of resources which results in sustained economic growth and better standards of living for our people," he added.

In this regard, the President noted, the government had mounted a wide range of measures to improve governance, and in particular to combat corruption.

He said to date, the Government had established the Kenya anti Corruption Commission, special anti-corruption courts, strengthened the national audit office and enacted the anti-corruption and economic crimes Act as well as public officer ethics Act.

Noting that corruption needs to be combated at all levels, President Kibaki expressed satisfaction that through the combined efforts of all the stakeholders considerable progress had been realized towards achieving a united front against corruption.

On the constitution, President Kibaki said the government remains committed to ensuring that Kenyans get a new constitution that reflects modern aspirations and strengthens the bonds of national unity.

He recalled that a report by the consultative committee of eminent persons he constituted early this year, had indicated that Kenyans were very clear on how they would like to proceed and guarantee themselves a constitution that will serve present and future generations.

Said the President, "one issue that we learnt in the process is the need to entrench in the constitution mechanisms that will guarantee harmony in the management of our diversity."

He noted that the government's policy in constitutional making was driven by the desire to harness the country's diversity for nation building and stability. Said the President, "My government recognizes the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity of its people as an asset."

He said to ensure non-discrimination on all bases of diversity, the government had ensured the accommodation of all shades of diversity at various levels of government including cabinet and the civil service.

President Kibaki at the same time noted that the government had deepened democratic reforms, adding today leaders are free to speak their minds without fear of intimidation or reprisal, adding that the media is also now fully liberalized and free of state control.

"We are encouraging our people to not just talk because they are free to talk but instead to engage in national dialogue on the best economic and social model that they deem appropriate for our nation," he said.

On development, President Kibaki said the constituency development fund (CDF) was one of the initiatives aimed at bringing parity in the country's development. He noted that through the CDF all 210 constituencies in the country were benefiting from a pre-determined percentage of national taxes to finance community-based projects.

Said the President, "currently about 1 million US dollars is being channeled to each constituency through the constituency development fund to support grassroots development projects."

He added that the government was directing additional resources through other devolved funds, namely the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund, the Local Authorities transfer fund and the Constituent School Bursary Fund.

"We are disbursing these funds because of our firm belief of the need to empower our people especially in the rural areas where 70 percent of our population lives," he added.

On social services, President Kibaki told the forum that the government was offering free primary education as a way of breaking the cycle of poverty that successive generations in Africa have been subjected to.

He added, "We are also allocating substantial funds for the health sector in order to ensure that more vulnerable members of our society have access to affordable health care."

President Kibaki also touched on the Land issue and said the government was keen on developing a comprehensive National Land Policy which will address critical issues such as Land registration and administration, land use planning, environmental degradation, land related conflicts and the unplanned proliferation of informal urban settlements.

He also said wide-ranging reforms in the public service were being introduced to ensure efficient implementation of government policies and programmes. "This specific measures include adoption of results based management approaches, performances contracting as well as mechanism for appraising performance," he said.

The President who spoke on a wide range of issues said Kenya has remained particular about the issue of transformative leadership adding that as part of the wider public sector reform programme the government had embarked on initiatives aimed at building the capacities of members of the cabinet, parliament and senior public servants.

"Our vision under this programme is to establish a public service management culture that is responsive, results oriented and which rewards creativity, while promoting continuous learning," he said.

The President at the same time said the government had made significant progress in the area of gender policies and programmes that would mainstream gender in the development process.

On the Youth, he said the government was committed to empowering the youth and integrating them fully into the national development process.

He noted that other than the creation of a youth ministry and revival of youth polytechnics the government had set aside an initial capitalization of 20 million U.S. dollars to enable the youth access affordable capital for investment.

On regional issues, President Kibaki said Kenya believed that it can only achieve its full potential when all her neighbours are at peace and enjoying the benefits of economic development.

Noting that today Kenya was home to over 25,000 registered refugees President Kibaki said Kenya would continue to broker peace in Somalia and Sudan and support the reconstruction process in the two countries as part of efforts aimed at consolidating peace and development in the region.