Kenya must begin preparing for the decades ahead before Vision 2030 comes to an end, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei has said, defending the proposed Vision 2060 as necessary for the country’s long-term development.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Tuesday, Shollei said Kenya should use the remaining period of Vision 2030 to review its successes and failures and identify lessons that should guide the next national development plan.
“As 2030 is coming to a close, we should not wait until 2030 arrives. Then we start thinking about progress,” Shollei said. “We must ask ourselves what lessons have we learnt from Vision 2030. There are some things we've done right. There are some things that have not been done right.”
She argued that long-term planning should not be viewed as unusual, saying Kenyans routinely make plans for their children years before they reach adulthood and should apply the same thinking to the country.
“When I have a baby today, I will start planning how that child is going to go to school. I'm going to plan all the way to university,” she said. “So if I think about my own child for the next 30 years, why wouldn't I think about my country in the same way?”
President William Ruto launched a national conversation on Kenya’s development beyond Vision 2030 on August 12, 2026. The proposed framework is expected to take over from the current development blueprint, which was launched in 2008.
The plan has, however, faced criticism from opposition leaders, who have questioned why the government is starting the process before addressing what they consider unfinished business under Vision 2030.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed the proposed Vision 2060 as a distraction from what he described as failures under Vision 2030. Former Chief Justice David Maraga has also questioned whether Kenyans are better off under the current administration.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has criticised the initiative on the grounds that national development cannot be separated from constitutional principles, including democracy, human rights, equality, the rule of law and social justice.
Former presidential candidate Fred Matiang’i has similarly questioned whether the government has done enough to build public trust and protect institutions before beginning a new national conversation.
Shollei said the criticism should not take away from the need for Kenya to think several decades ahead. She pointed to major infrastructure projects as evidence that long-term planning has been part of the country’s development process for years.
She cited the Red Hill–Waiyaki Way link road, saying plans for the project can be traced back to land that was compulsorily acquired in the 1970s.
“Can you imagine that in 1970 we knew there was going to be a Red Hill, Waiyaki link road?” she said. “So Kenya has always planned how many years ahead? 30 or so. So this is not news.”
According to Shollei, the main weakness has not been the decision to plan ahead but the failure to keep citizens properly informed about what has been achieved.
She said Kenyans should be able to see clearly how much progress has been made under the economic, social and political pillars of Vision 2030 and what remains unfinished.
“The challenge has been that we have not been very efficient in making sure that we inform Kenyans,” she said, acknowledging that the government had not done enough to explain its programmes.
Vision 2030 was launched in 2008 during the administration of former President Mwai Kibaki with the goal of turning Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country by 2030.
President Ruto has acknowledged that some of the blueprint’s major targets have not been achieved, including the goal of attaining upper-middle-income status.
With 2030 approaching, Shollei said the country should therefore assess the gains and shortcomings of the existing plan while preparing a new framework that can guide development over the longer term.