Mr Chairman,

Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,

The Panel of Eminent Persons,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am indeed pleased to address this 6th Summit of the African Peer Review Mechanism Forum of Heads of State and Government. I wish, at the very outset, to commend Your Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo, for your able stewardship of the Forum. I also take this opportunity, on behalf of my delegation, to extend our sincere gratitude to our host, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Government and the people of Ethiopia, for their warm reception. Allow me also to congratulate my brother, President Thabo Mbeki, and the people of South Africa, for the successful completion of their APRM process.

Excellencies,

As I pointed out during the APRM Forum in Banjul last year, my Government has remained committed to the ideals and objectives of the African Peer Review Mechanism. Indeed, I am happy to inform this forum that Kenya has carried out a comprehensive public awareness campaign to disseminate the contents of the APRM Kenya Report. The dissemination strategy has included serialization in major newspapers as well as interactive radio and TV programmes. This is to ensure that majority of Kenyans can freely access information on the key issues in the report. We have also printed a popular version in both English, and the national language, Kiswahili.

Excellencies,

Regarding Kenya's progress with respect to the objectives of APRM, I am glad to inform this forum that we have recorded considerable achievements in the implementation of the National Programme of Action since we were reviewed last year. We have continued to sustain the momentum of economic recovery, which forms the foundation for the improvement of the quality of lives of our people. We are also continuing to implement the reform agenda we have set for our country.

With respect to economic performance, we recorded a real GDP growth rate of 5.8 percent last year. The outlook for the current financial year is more promising with most sectors having good growth prospects. Indeed, we project real GDP growth rate to reach 6 percent this year. The improved economic performance has been the result of a combination of deliberate policy measures targeted at ensuring macro-economic stability, improving infrastructure, strengthening the productive and service sectors.

With respect to the macro-economic environment, we have succeeded in stabilizing interest rates and containing inflation at predictable levels, despite the challenges of high international oil prices. We are also committing massive resources to infrastructure development in roads, rail, marine and air transport. In the energy sector, for example, we have already enacted the Energy Act 2006, which, among other things, opens participation in electricity generation to private investors.

We expect that this will pave the way for implementation of a vigorous electrification programme for both urban and rural areas. And to further hasten the connection of electricity to the rural areas, the new law has established the Kenya Rural Electrification Authority which would focus on the implementation of rural electrification projects. Already, my government has approved for implementation a total of 940 rural electrification schemes spread in 191 constituencies to be completed by 30th June, 2007 at a cost of 6 billion Kenya Shillings. These schemes are targeting trading centres, secondary schools, health facilities, community water projects, police stations, administration centres and agricultural produce processing facilities.

In the telecommunications sector, the continued implementation of reform measures has enabled the mobile phone subscriber base to rise from 4 million at the beginning of 2005 to 7 million currently. My Government is reinforcing these gains by connecting our major towns with fibre optic cable, and joining Kenya to the rest of the world by submarine cable.

With respect to the social sectors, a key priority of my Government has been to promote equity in socio-economic development by levelling the playing field for all Kenyans. The objective is to increase access to social economic opportunities for all.

Due to improved economic performance and implementation of revenue enhancing reform measures, we have been able to increase budgetary allocation to the social sectors and core poverty programmes. Indeed, today we are funding 93 percent of our national budget from our own local resources. This has enabled my Government to increase its funding to core social commitments that empower Kenyans. For example, my Government has continued to implement the Constituency Development Fund, the Local Authority Transfer Fund and other devolved funds, that are aimed at empowering local communities and giving them greater control in planning and budgeting for their needs.

In addition, the Government has gazetted the National Youth Enterprise Fund from which enterprising young people can access affordable capital to establish or expand their businesses. The fund currently stands at one billion Kenya Shillings, and we intend to expand it to at least 2 billion Kenya Shillings in the coming financial year. In addition, we are revamping youth polytechnics. These centres will be used to equip the youth with the appropriate skills that will expand their options for employment.

My Government has also continued to offer Free Primary Education. The Free Primary Education Programme has been a great success and we are seeking ways of a phased expansion of the programme to other areas including secondary education and pre-primary level. Presently, my Government is undertaking a school-mapping exercise with a view to determining school locations in order to improve access and equity. Equally important, we have continued to improve the delivery of health care services. Today, the Government is providing free drugs for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in public health facilities. Further, children aged five years and below are being treated free of charge, while pregnant women are being provided with free mosquito nets.

In seeking to empower our people, my Government has continued to pay particular attention to the full integration of women in the development process. Last year, I directed that women should form 30 percent of all newly recruited public servants. Further, I directed that Chairpersons of our national women organisation at all levels be co-opted as automatic members into various development committees at the Provincial, District and Constituency levels. This will enable women to monitor and influence development that benefits them and their children. We are in the process of drafting the necessary legislation to entrench the implementation of these directives in our laws. Furthermore, last year, I signed into law the Sexual Offences Bill, 2006. The law will go a long way in protecting the rights of our citizens, especially women and children.

With regard to land, the government is aware that this is a major cause of inequality in our country. In addressing this issue, we are focussing our attention on areas where the squatter problem has remained unresolved for many years. Over the last six months, the government has speeded up issuance of title deeds. We are in the process of finalizing a Land Policy, which will facilitate the establishment of a Land Reform Unit, that will be charged with overseeing the management and ownership of land.

Excellencies,

In the political sphere, we have made enormous progress in the past four years in laying the foundations required for an issue-based, people-centred, results-oriented and accountable democratic political system. We are committed to delivering a new constitution to Kenyans and we have convened meetings with stakeholders to explore various options for the finalization of the constitutional review process.

In this respect, the government has approved the two Bills, namely, the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill and the Constitution of Kenya Review Bill to provide for, and entrench in the constitution, the organs of the review process as well as the roadmap for the process. The two Bills will be presented to Parliament for debate and enactment. We have further stepped up the war against corruption by launching a five-year plan of fighting corruption. We have also enacted into law the Witness Protection Bill to protect those who volunteer information on corruption. In addition, we have drafted a Political Parties Bill which among other things provides for state funding of political parties while an Elections Bill consolidating all electoral laws at the Presidential, legislative and local level will also be tabled in parliament.

Excellencies,

On foreign affairs, my Government's policy is anchored on the projection of national economic interest, good neighbourliness, regional integration and international cooperation. We cannot develop a strong economy and stable democracy without being surrounded by similarly strong and prosperous neighbours. In this regard, Kenya consistently pursues peace and reconciliation and strong economic ties within the region.

Our contribution to the peace processes in Sudan and Somalia are testimony to this policy. We shall continue to seek ways of working with the international community in order to consolidate peace in Sudan and Somalia. Let me also say that, during Kenya's tenure as current Chair of the East African Community, Rwanda and Burundi have been admitted to the Community.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, I wish to point out that in spite of the progress we have made, there are many challenges that remain. It is for this reason that my Government recently launched the National Vision TWENTY-THIRTY. The Vision is a long-term plan that aims at transforming Kenya from an under-developed third world country into a modern dynamic middle-income country that enjoys greater social and economic equity and one whose politics are centred on issues and not ethnicity and regionalism.

I reaffirm our commitment to the APRM process because good governance is a precondition if Kenya is to achieve this vision of becoming a prosperous country capable of providing a high quality of life for all our people.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you and God Bless Africa.