Government Spokesperson Charles Owino has dismissed claims that Kenya has abandoned Vision 2030, saying the country's long-term development blueprint remains fully in place and continues to guide government programmes as preparations begin for the next national development plan.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Thursday, Owino said the current implementation framework under Vision 2030 is approaching its final phase, making it necessary for the country to start discussions on what will succeed it after 2030. He said the process will be guided by public participation to ensure the next long-term plan reflects the views and priorities of Kenyans.
Owino said many people wrongly believe Vision 2030 was abandoned because successive governments have continued implementing its programmes without consistently explaining that they are part of the country's long-term development strategy.
He traced the origin of the blueprint to the administration of former President Mwai Kibaki, explaining that it was developed after the Economic Recovery Strategy helped revive an economy that had slowed down.
According to Owino, the recovery programme restored economic growth before the coalition government developed Vision 2030 as the country's comprehensive development agenda.
He said the blueprint, launched in 2008, was created to transform Kenya into an industrialised middle-income country while improving the quality of life for citizens through political, economic and social pillars.
"The objective of Vision 2030 was to industrialise Kenya, push the economy to middle-income status and improve the standard of living of our people. It was built around three pillars - political, economic and social. Under the social pillar, we had education, water and sanitation, housing, health and the environment. Under the economic pillar, there was agriculture, tourism, foreign exchange stability, inflation management and economic growth, while the political pillar focused on equity, inclusivity and fairness."
Owino explained that Vision 2030 has been implemented through successive five-year Medium Term Plans, with the first covering 2008 to 2013, followed by MTP II from 2013 to 2017, MTP III from 2018 to 2022 and the current MTP IV, which runs until the 2027/28 financial year.
He rejected suggestions that later administrations moved away from the blueprint, saying major government programmes introduced under former President Uhuru Kenyatta and President William Ruto are anchored in Vision 2030.
"People say President Uhuru abandoned Vision 2030 and came up with the Big Four Agenda. No. The Big Four Agenda is in Vision 2030. President Ruto's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is also part of Vision 2030 because its pillars, including agriculture, universal healthcare, the digital superhighway and support for SMEs, are contained in the blueprint," he said.
Owino said Kenya is now approaching a planning transition because the current Medium Term Plan is the final one under Vision 2030. He explained that while the blueprint remains in force until 2030, there will be no fifth five-year implementation plan beyond the 2027/28 financial year.
"The Medium Term Plan Four ends in the 2027/28 financial year. There is no Medium Term Plan Five because you cannot prepare a five-year plan for only two remaining years. That is why we must begin discussing Kenya's next development plan while continuing to implement Vision 2030 up to 2030," he said.
He added that the planned national conversation is meant to collect ideas from across the country, saying the next long-term development framework should be shaped through broad public participation rather than by government alone.