STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE CABINET SECRETARIES AND PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES RETREAT, MT. KENYA SAFARI CLUB NANYUKI ON 4TH MARCH, 2014 We have been in Government for almost a year now. We have shared challenges and successes, and we have accumulated experience. This is our moment to pause, to reflect, and together to identify those parts of our practice which we can improve. We will also step back from our day-to-day affairs, and take the long view, to better pinpoint opportunities and potential difficulties. The bottom line is that the Kenyan people have shown great patience with us, as we outlined our programs. t is now our turn to deliver. When Kenyans ask !what is the plan and when do our people start feeling the impact"#, we must have a ready answer. What are we looking for to achieve" $irst, we will re-focus on government priorities, and agree how to fund them. %econd, we can all agree that we want to see better coordination of programs, especially those that straddle more than one ministry. There must be clarity, coherence and consistency in our planning, and in our implementation. We can no longer afford to bunker down in our silos &let us serve our people as one government with one common agenda and agreed priorities. Kenyans hunger for better public services. 'ur promise that we would improve them is one they will long remember. 'therwise theywill not forgive us if we fail. This, then, is an important opportunity for (abinet %ecretaries and )rincipal %ecretaries to review their service delivery so far, and to bring new ideas to the table. t is also time to make our diverse professional backgrounds & from both the )rivate and )ublic %ectors& count. *s we identify and begin to implement our plans for +,-./-0 $1, we will involve )arliament & in particular, the )arliamentary 2udget (ommittee. nclusion is a national value under *rticle -, of our new constitution & and, more immediately, we all know that buy-in by elected officials is vital if we are to achieve our aims. We have begun to implement 3T) of 4ision +,5,. t demands that resources be available, and that they be applied in a timely manner. 'nce again, these goals demand close discussion with )arliament6 we will find it to our advantage to share our plans and priorities with it, so that we can be certain of its support.

The time has also come to improve synergy between the arms and institutions of Government.We, whatever our position in national or county governments, serve one people and one nation. We have placed ourselves under a duty to achieve a common, shared vision for Kenya. We cannot & we dare not &allow differences of station or function impede or delay our achievement. * crucial step in our common endeavor is 7oint planning. We already operate, and will continue, for the foreseeable future, to operate our pro7ects and programs in a dynamic environment. 8ach success is a collective triumph9 each failure a collective reproach. Together, we must look ahead, identify any risk that might undermine our 7oint efforts and mitigate them appropriately. 1ou may be aware of many scattered and incomplete pro7ects in the Government )ortfolio. This habit can no longer be sustained. :et the incomplete pro7ects of the past constantly remind us of our heavy responsibilities in the present. *s you know, our new (onstitution has greatly restructured the Governance )rocess. We are called upon to be more accountable to the people of Kenya9 their expectations are, rightly, higher than ever. We must now attend to the changed governance environment, and review our performance under its new metrics. 8;ually, we must reflect on our relations with other arms of government. To those whom much has been given, much will be re;uired. We were granted a mandate to transform this country. 3uch, therefore, will be re;uired of us. 2ut this is a burden we willingly shouldered. We promised much. This is the time to redeem our promises. know and strongly believe !working together, we can and we will make it#. wish all of us the most fruitful deliberations.