Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to join you all on this occasion in which we conclude the 49th edition of the Kenya National Drama Festival. Let me note, at the very outset, that I am impressed by the high standards of drama that have been staged before us this afternoon. I take this opportunity to congratulate the teachers and all the artists for the very creative, entertaining and instructive performances that we have witnessed today. I urge you all to keep up the good work and to uphold the same dedication to this important annual event.

This year’s drama festival addressed a rich variety of themes relevant to our society today. This is important because drama plays a key role in highlighting the shortcomings in society. By doing so, the dramatic arts serve to educate us and call upon us to take corrective action. I, hope that both those who have watched the live performances as well as those that will view the plays on television, will take time to reflect on the themes presented throughout the festival and to respond positively to the challenges they pose to us. In this way, the festival will have practical meaning for us beyond its face value of entertainment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My Government is committed to ensuring the all round development of our children. It is for this reason that we have continued to pay particular attention to co-curricula activities, alongside academic work in our schools. Over the last four and a half years, for example, my Government has spent 750 million shillings on co-curricula activities, including sports, music and drama. This year alone, the Government will spend about 380 million shillings in support of co-curricula activities. These investments demonstrate our commitment to assist Kenyan youth by investing in their future.

Besides this, I am glad to note that we have entrenched the free primary education programme. This programme has been a major success, with enrolment rising from 5.9 million children in 2002 to 8 million currently. This year, we embarked on the provision of Free Secondary Education. Our aim is to ensure that as many primary school children as possible join secondary schools. With free secondary education, we expect to increase the transition rate from 46.4 per cent in 2002 to over 70 per cent.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the major challenges facing our nation is negative ethnicity. This problem is undoubtedly a major contributor to the violence that engulfed our country in the recent past. My government is committed to addressing this problem in order to ensure that our diverse Kenyan communities live together harmoniously and in peace. In this respect, we are creating a new department of national cohesion under the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs which will be charged with the task of developing programmes for galvanising our communities. I am also confident that the issue of constitution review that we have committed to undertake within the next twelve months will adequately address our challenges of nationhood. Further, the government will be tabling before parliament the Ethnic Relations Commission of Kenya Bill that aims at creating the institutional framework to systematically address the issue of national cohesion.

I am pleased to note that some of the presentations made by the students during this festival have addressed the problem of tribalism in addition to other ills that afflict our society. I urge the youth and indeed society as a whole to take the lessons from these plays and narratives seriously with a view to cultivating positive attitudes towards each other. I also urge all stakeholders in our education sector to uphold the spirit of harmonious co-existence and to work aggressively to ensure that ethnic sensitivities do not infiltrate our learning institutions. In particular, our education system should pay particular attention to educating our youth on the dangers of negative ethnicity. We should now focus on nurturing a generation that will rise above tribal identities and regard themselves only as Kenyans.

Indeed, Kenya is blessed to have an abundance of well-educated young people. Our challenge as a nation is to harness their energy, dynamism and creativity so that they become the engine for our development and prosperity. Our young people continue to excel in Sports, in Music, in the Arts as well as in business and more recently, also in politics. During my first term in office I took the important step of creating a Ministry of Youth Affairs. Later, my government established the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to support those young people keen on going into business. Recognizing the important role that sports plays in the development of young people and the immense opportunities it avails, I have now moved the Sports department to create an expanded Ministry of Youth and Sports.

I am happy to note that one of the key areas that the Ministry is addressing is Recreation and Community Development. As we seek to expand economic opportunities available to our youth, let us find ways to ensure that leisure time activities for the youth not only provide entertainment, but also serve to stimulate their creativity. In this regard, pursuits such as music and drama not only enrich our lives, but also contribute to the wholesome development of a person.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I conclude my remarks, I would like to appeal to the Ministry of Education and the newly created Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Technology to learn from the challenges that we faced in the management of the final results of last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education. We must all appreciate that a credible national examinations is a key pillar to our education system. I would like to see that systems are put in place to ensure that the problem does not recur. In addition, I wish to acknowledge the support that the private sector has continued to extend to the education sector. I take this opportunity to thank Equity Bank Ltd for the University Bursary Scheme in which the bank finances university education for the best boy and girl in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in each district. I am pleased to note that the scheme has also been expanded to benefit the best actor and actress in this festival. This is indeed a commendable input into the future lives of the youth and one that will have long lasting impact in their lives.

I also wish to acknowledge and thank other partners like the Nation Media Group, the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission, Kenya Bureau of Standards, the French Embassy, the Higher Education Loans Board and many other well wishers who have given support to this festival. I wish to call upon other stakeholders to join in and support co-curricula programmes in our schools and colleges for the benefit of the Kenyan youth.

Finally, I thank the Festival organizers, judges, trainers and students for achieving the high standards of performance that have been witnessed in this year’s festival. As you travel to your various destinations, I wish you all safe journeys and happy holidays.

Thank you and God bless you all.