Kenya’s next development chapter should not be another five-year plan, Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o has said, urging the country to first agree on the future it wants before designing programmes to deliver it.
Nyong’o said the discussion on Vision 2060 has become necessary as Kenya approaches the end of the planning period under Vision 2030 and faces the question of what should follow.
He spoke on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at the launch of nationwide public consultations on the proposed long-term development framework.
The governor, who is leading the strategic working group preparing Vision 2060, said long-term planning should begin with a clear picture of the country Kenya wants to become.
Nyong’o was also among the architects of Vision 2030, which has served as Kenya’s main long-term development blueprint since its launch in 2008.
“In the days to come, we must build for the future. To build for the future, we must have a clear view of the future we desire and commit to build it block by block until we achieve it,” Nyong’o said.
He said the timing of the conversation had attracted questions, but maintained that there were three strong reasons for Kenya to begin the process at this stage.
“Many are asking why we are having this conversation now. There are three compelling reasons why this conversation should take place at this time,” he said.
Under Vision 2030, Kenya has relied on successive five-year medium-term plans to turn the broader goals of the blueprint into programmes and projects.
Nyong’o said the country must now look beyond the immediate planning period and settle the question of its destination after 2030.
“But what happens after 2027? This is where medium-term plans become important,” he said.
He warned against preparing another five-year programme without first agreeing on a wider national goal, saying such an approach could leave the country repeatedly implementing projects without a clear sense of where it is headed.
“If Kenya simply develops another five-year plan without agreeing on the country’s long-term destination beyond 2030, our planning process risks becoming another cycle of programmes and projects without sufficiently clear national direction,” he said.
Vision 2030 was introduced with the goal of turning Kenya into an industrialised middle-income country while improving the quality of life for citizens in a clean and secure environment.
Nyong’o said the country must therefore examine the progress made since the blueprint was introduced and determine what still needs to be done.
“It is necessary to take stock of how far we have come,” he said.
He said some of the issues that Vision 2030 was meant to address have been dealt with to a considerable extent, while others remain unresolved or have become more difficult.
The governor added that Kenya is also dealing with challenges that were not prominent when Vision 2030 was first developed.
Vision 2060 is being prepared as the framework that will guide Kenya after Vision 2030, with a focus on providing a long-term direction for economic and infrastructure development.
The process will involve Kenyans in all parts of the country through public consultations aimed at developing a people-driven National Development Charter.
The charter will bring together the priorities and aspirations raised by citizens and provide the foundation for Kenya’s development plans after Vision 2030.