President Uhuru Kenyatta takes the oath of office when being sworn in for his second term. [Photo/ Courtesy of UK]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has made it clear the areas he will focus on to improve the lives of Kenyans during his second term.
The president said his his target is to provide 100% universal healthcare coverage for all households over the next five years.
“This vision will be driven by a complete reconfiguration of the National Hospital Insurance Fund and reform of the laws governing private insurance companies,” he said, revealing that he aims to have 13 million Kenyans and their dependants under NHIF.
On housing, President Kenyatta said his government will help at least 500,000 people in the country to become new home owners within the next five years.
Speaking during his inauguration ceremony at Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday, the Jubilee leader said his administration will focus on attracting – from public and private sources – the injection of low-cost capital into the housing sector.
“Policy and administrative reforms which are targeted at lowering the cost of construction and improving the accessibility of affordable mortgages will be given first priority,” he said.
The head of State revealed that one of his priorities will be to create jobs and opportunities for the youth, by targeting the manufacturing sector for the creation of decent jobs.
“We will build on ongoing efforts, such as the VW and Peugeot motor-vehicle assembly plants; the fertiliser blending factories; and Wrigleys in the confectionery industry. Similarly, we will target the creation of 1,000 small and medium scale enterprises in agro-processing,” the president said.
To boost the manufacturing sector, the president said he had directed that power tariffs charged on manufacturers be reduced by 50% at night, leading to the creation of a 24-hour economy.
Further, the president emphasized, the government will focus on developing agro-processing, textiles and apparel, leather processing, construction materials, innovation and IT, mining and extractives sub-sectors where value addition will be the underlying theme.
“Whether it is our vegetables, tea, coffee, oil or gemstones, our policies and actions as a government over the next 5 years will be to ensure that as much value and as many jobs as possible are created and retained in Kenya,” the President said.
To boost food security, President Kenyatta assured of heavy investment in securing the country’s water towers so that the vagaries of weather will never again hold the country hostage.
“We shall take steps to encourage and facilitate large-scale commercial agriculture to help diversify our staples. We shall redesign subsidies to the sector to ensure they target improvements in food yields and production quality,” he said.