President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday during Jubilee's NDC. [Photo/PSCU]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged to continue working tirelessly for the betterment of Kenyans as he was formally endorsed by the Jubilee Party as its presidential candidate.
He made the pledge at the Bomas of Kenya where the Jubilee Party held a colourful National Delegates Conference where he was nominated as the flag bearer of the party with Deputy President William Ruto as his running mate.
“I will work day and night to transform the country for the betterment of all Kenyans. By the end of five years we will be talking about Vision 2020 and not Vision 2030,” said the President on Saturday.
During the elaborate endorsement process, the President and his deputy also pledged to conduct peaceful campaigns and to refrain from utterances or actions that will incites ethnic tensions.
The President, who spoke after he was officially nominated, said his administration has achieved milestones in transforming the country.
He said the Jubilee Government has brought crucial services closer to Kenyans, which were lacking more than 50 years after Kenya gained independence.
The President cited the upgrading of two hospitals in each county to referral level, bringing specialised medical services literally to the doorsteps of many Kenyans.
In the past, a patient in a county like Marsabit who needed kidney dialysis had to incur costs to be lifted to Nairobi for the services.
But with the investments made by the Jubilee Government, such a patient can now get such services at the Marsabit County Hospital.
The President also cited the Huduma services that has decentralised the acquisition of official government documents.
Also among the achievements of the Jubilee Government are the issuance of more than 2.5 million title deeds, much more than was issued in Kenya from when the state was formed to 2013.
The expansion of access to electricity and the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway were among the other achievements the President touted in his speech.
He pledged that his Administration will undertake more initiatives to better the lives of Kenyans including improving school infrastructure to ensure 100 percent transition from primary to secondary.
The President said the Government will allocate Sh5 billion to improve school infrastructure and will also make day schools free of charge.
In his speech the President also criticised the opposition, which he described as a coalition crafted to get job for its four leading figures.
He described the leader of the opposition as “a man who does not know how to solve problems but only knows how to talk about problems”.
The Head of State said the Government is working on an appropriate plan to deal with the rising cost of maize flour.
He revealed that Parliament will be recalled soon to come up with legislations to deal with the issue of food prices.
“We have been quiet about this issue but we have been working on a plan and soon Parliament will resume soon and it will come up with a lasting solution,” said the President.
The Deputy President said many leaders have abandoned the opposition to work with Jubilee Party. He said the opposition has taken years to unite four individuals and that was proving that they cannot unite Kenyans.
He said Jubilee has demonstrated itself as a democratic party when it conducted free and fair nominations as opposed to the opposition which held chaotic primaries or in many cases issues direct tickets.
Earlier in the day President Kenyatta was endorsed by four other political parties including Maendeleo Chap Chap, NARC Kenya, KANU and Economic Freedom Party. The President was on Thursday also endorsed by Frontier Alliance Party.
Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju said the party has proved its democratic credentials with the cross-cutting of Kenyans who won in its primaries.
He said the party is on the way to produce the first woman governor, the first woman governor and elected leaders with disabilities.
To symbolise that the Jubilee Party is a party for all Kenyans, the President was proposed by Janet Taiya, a Jubilee nominated woman MP with disability.
Taiya is now the Jubilee nominee for Kajiado Women Rep. The President was then seconded by Abdi G Mohamed, a Jubilee MCA nominee from Isiolo who is a former street boy.