My fellow Kenyans, Welcome to this historic venue and to this event.Those joining us through live broadcast on television, radio and the internet, Karibuni Sana.
This is the birth of a new political party, a youth-focused political formation that recognizes that 80% of our population in this country is below 40 years of age. The youth of this country constitute the bulk of our human capital and the greatest concentration of our talent. They are our hope today and in the future.
There can be no solution to the challenges facing our young people today without a national vision, strategy and programs that are youth focused.This new and fresh political outfit is therefore the party for you who have finished school in the last few years and you have had no opportunity to get a job. You can’t afford college fees and even with college education you see no light at the end of the tunnel. You are willing to work but you cannot find a job. We hear you. We understand your predicament and we know that you deserve a leadership and a party that will take action, not just talk and chant.
Fellow Kenyans, across our land I have encountered too many people and families in crises. There are many single mothers and widows watching this launch this afternoon and whose stories are heart-rending yet untold. As a mother you may have struggled to see your children through high school and spent every cent you had earned to see them through college and now you are stuck with your children at home with no jobs in sight.
Our new party is committed to making your load lighter. With our youth-focused political agenda, we are determined to adopt best practices from around the world and ensure that skills training for our youth is government financed. We want to take action. Not just the same old same.
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Wenzangu,
Wazazi wengi, kote mchini, wengine wakina mama wajane wamejaribu juu chini kusomesha watoto wao hadi shule za upili na vyuo mbalimbali vya elimu ya juu.
Wengi wa watoto wao waliomaliza masomo wamekwama nyumbani. Hawana ajira. Wasichana na vijana wanakosa tumaini. Chama chetu kipya kitapunguza mzigo wao. Siasa zetu zitahusisha vijana na kuiga mifumo ya ajira iliyofanikiwa kwingineko duniani. Chama chetu kitahakikisha kuwa mafunzo ya ujuzi wa kazi yatagharamiwa na serikali. Ahadi yetu ni ya vitendo sio porojo tuu.
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Fellow Kenyans, every child is a gift from God. Every individual, in this hall or watching us out there has a story to tell.With your indulgence, let me share with you the story of one Aden Isaak Mohammed from Mandera County. Aden if you are here, please stand to acknowledge the audience.
Though from a poor nomadic family, Aden managed to pass his Standard Eight Examinations but could not continue to form one. Then, he was aged only 14.To make a living, Aden drifted to Isiolo and later Meru where he sold watches at a bus terminus and in bars. One day, by pure chance, a Good Samaritan noticed the boy’s tender age and innocence, took him to St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Embu where he managed to reach Form Four. The young hawker turned scholar passed well.
Through a well-wisher, the young man got a scholarship through our own Ministry of Education and proceeded to a university in Morocco to study Economics. Aden returned last year.Meanwhile, Aden’s nomadic parents are still in Mandera. So he lives with some well-wishers in Kibera slums. Every day he knocks at doors with his degree in Economics looking for a job. He does not have very good prospects in his job search because he has neither the relatives in the right places nor the necessary social networks.
Aden believed in the change that politicians talk about. Today, however, he has become a bit disillusioned because he has realized that many politicians – perhaps the majority – have no intention of doing what they promise. They talk about change before they take office. As soon as they are in government, they start by dishing out positions to their own brothers and sisters first. Then they sneak in their cousins and other members of their extended family.
Next, they team up with their friends on the basis of political correctness. The question is – when, if ever, will they reach a poor boy like Aden who holds an Economics degree?There are many young people like Aden. They are not politically connected. They are not tribally correct. They do not have influential relatives and friends to connect them to a job.
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Kuna vijana wengi kama Aden ambao hawana ma-Godfather kutoka kabila zao wanaoweza kuwasaidia kupata ajira. Kwa hivyo, wako peke yao.
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They need a new political formation that can assure them of a fairer government.
Wanahitaji serikali ambayo inaweza kuwahudumia bila mapendeleo.
Fellow Kenyans, in my public life, I have had occasion to witness the plight of many Kenyans, one of which I wish to highlight. Many Kenyans may have an idea that I served the people of Rarieda as a Member of Parliament. I thank God that I managed to give many youth opportunities that have borne fruits ever since and continue to do so.
But let us now turn to the story of Serah Lekal Kuli’s predicament.Serah is with us today.Serah, a girl from the Samburu community navigated around challenges such as FGM and eventually managed to go to high school with the help of Catholic Missionaries and well-wishers. She now holds a degree in Law from a university in India. Coming from a minority community, Serah did not have the social networks and social capital or relatives to connect her to a job.
When I met her through a Catholic priest, Father Riwa of Meru she had been searching for a job for two years. She became desperate and discouraged. All her struggles to get an education turned into a cruel irony.
I related to her predicament and empathized fully. I took Serah in my hands, knocked at every door I could and thank God we succeeded. She now has a job.But there are many other young Kenyans like Serah who have not been as lucky.
There are hundreds of thousands of other young people in Kenya whose lives should not go to waste. Serah’s case is a good example. Fellow Kenyans, I know that there are many young people like Aden and Serah out there today. I want to assure you that with this new political vehicle we will work together to address these challenges.
I am reminded of the immortal words once said by Mahatma Gandhi (and I quote) “In this country there is enough for all our needs but not enough for all our greed”. He was spot on!
It is my solemn pledge to Aden, Serah and millions of Kenyans out there that should Kenyans vote us into office and honour us with the privilege of serving them our government will address all these challenges because our new Party is the PARTY OF ACTION.
At this embryonic stage of our Party, we have 12 Points of Action that are an integral part of our draft Manifesto presented here today and available on our website.
Apart from the focus on youth in our Manifesto and Points of Action, I want to assure Kenyans that the Party of Action is also about tackling another curse that stalks us – the curse of tribalism in practice and tribalism in politics.
Divisive political games fueled by ethnic bigotry are extremely profitable to some political leaders. Such are the leaders who have perfected the art and technology of forging alliances based purely on tribal leanings where certain tribes are set against others. As the Tribal Chiefs gain power and make money via their tribal games, it’s the ordinary Mwananchi who suffers. Scores of Kenyans have suffered and even died because of their tribal political leaders.
Fellow Kenyans, we know what happened after the last General Election. We are yet to overcome the trauma of that violence courtesy of heavily tribalized political practices.
In this hall, I have at least 20 people who were affected by the post-election violence. Each of them has a harrowing story to tell. I invite anyone, or the Media to have a talk with them after this session.
Let me ask all of them to stand.
To illustrate this point on IDPs, let me ask Mr. Aura to stand up. I will introduce his story, but i hope there will be time for him to speak a little later in the program.
Mr. Aura was running his bakery business in one of the suburbs of Nakuru. Aura is a member of the Luhya community.
However, his customers, suppliers and employees were just Kenyans. In the last General Election, Mr. Aura supported ODM and actively mobilized for his political party of choice. When the post-election violence broke out, some of his employees from the Kikuyu community and PNU supporters destroyed all his bakery equipment. In the process, one of his brothers was killed. Today his life is destroyed. He is an IDP. His plight and that of Kikuyu IDPs is not different.
Allow me to ask Mr. Njoroge Kuru to kindly stand up. For 30 years, Mr. Kuru was a prominent building contractor in Kisumu. With the post-election violence of 2008 all his construction equipment was destroyed. He was lucky to escape to Nakuru alive. But his life has become worse with passing days. He has no means of settling his wife’s medical bills. She is suffering from brain cancer. Neither does he have money to pay for the college fees of his children.
Let me also introduce Prisca Kiplagat, another victim of our dysfunctional, polarized politics and tribal conflicts. This afternoon, Prisca is accompanied by young Judy Keitany, a 14 year old orphan.
During the post-election violence, Judy’s parents, Roselyn and Elijah Keitany were in a Matatu heading out of Nairobi. They were brutally removed from the Matatu at Naivasha and hacked to death with pangas. Their story did not hit the headlines as did the burning of children at Kiambaa church in Eldoret. I highlight their sad story here today to illustrate the folly of our ethnic fights.
Prisca lived with her seven children at the Mau forest for ten years until her eventual eviction straight into an IDP camp on the outskirts of the forest. Today she’s taking care of her seven children plus eight orphans of the late Elijah and Roselyn Keitany. That’s a total of 15 children – she is my shero! Let’s give her a clap.
Fellow Kenyans, there are many Kenyans like Prisca Kiplagat and young Judy Keitany gravely traumatized by the bad tribal politics that has played out in this country. Prisca and Judy and many other Kenyans in similar circumstances out there, may I assure you that we empathize with you and we will take action if you give us the mandate to lead this great country.
Lastly on this matter, there is Pastor Opiyo who was forcibly circumcised and this ordeal changed his life forever. His last trauma was when some politicians did not want his group of IDPs settled somewhere in Uasin Gishu.
On the ICC issue, I’d only like to say that the ongoing ICC trial is also part of a mix of issues that have traumatized and polarized our country. And I’d like to appeal to all of you my fellow Kenyans that we must not allow this process to divide us any further.
Ours is a traumatized country. Many of our people still harbour hard feelings caused by historical injustices.Therefore what this country needs now is an inspiring and reconciling leadership with a safe pair of hands that can skillfully and delicately navigate us out of the trauma of the past.
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Kuhusu kesi ya ICC ningependa kusema kuwa hili ni jambo ambalo linaendelea kuwatenganisha Wakenya. Ningependa kuwahimiza Wakenya wenzangu wasiruhusu swala hili litu-tenganishe hata zaidi. Kinachohitajika katika nchi hii ni uongozi wenye hekima na subra na ambao utawaleta Wakenya pamoja.
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Fellow Kenyans, I give my undertaking that POA will put together the right mix of visionary leaders and a team of young professionals that can help in the transitions that we must make to manage our diversity better. We have in our Party Manifesto the right strategy and approach to enable us to live as brothers and sisters not only in our country Kenya, but also within the East African Region and indeed the whole world.
There is no county in the world that has made the transition from a poor and underdeveloped country to a rich developed country without industrialization.The new era that we must enter now has to embrace industrialization across the key sectors of our economy. Through industrialization we can significantly transform our agriculture, information and communication technology and knowledge-based industries. We should also harness talent in the performing arts, for instance, in music & film and join countries like the USA in exporting our cultural products to the rest of the world.
No country in the world has become food secure by using traditional jembes and ox-driven ploughs and depending on rain-fed agriculture. We must make the shift to mechanized agriculture.
As a party we want POA to be a bridge to the future not an infatuation with the past. That is why our party symbol is a cell phone. Our symbol is a bold statement that we embrace modern technology and industry. We however have nothing against symbols inspired by wildlife and domestic animals.
We therefore welcome every Kenyan to this party where the active participation of the Youth is guaranteed.Fellow Kenyans, at POA we want more Kenyans and especially the young people to have a stake in our economy by owning homes in our towns and cities. We are a land of 20 million mobile phone subscribers, but only 20,000 active mortgages. We must change this so that more people have a stake in our country.
Mainstreaming of the Jua Kali sector will be one of our priorities. We are aware of models that have worked elsewhere in the world and are keen on pursuing linkages that will enable those in the Jua Kali sector and all those referred to as hustlers to access credit in order to develop their businesses, build or buy their own houses.
Fellow Kenyans, POA has a long list of things that we are committed to doing that include:-
Guaranteeing food security
Implementing the new constitution, including the Agenda Four items and empowering the counties
Reforming the health sector
Accelerating infrastructural development
And for my brothers and sisters in the Diaspora – I would like to assure you that a POA government will be creative and innovative and will engage with you. We propose to create a ministry of Diaspora affairs in line with best practices around the world to best serve the interests of the country and the Kenyans who live abroad. Just as has been done by countries like Philippines, India, Pakistan, Morocco etc.
Let me end by stating our resolve to fast-track the reform of the education sector. There is no precedent in history, where a country has made the transition to a rich and modern society without a critical mass of the population becoming literate and numerate. The Far East countries that are now the models we want to emulate in our Vision 2030 have made sure that transition to high school is over 95% in the last 45 years or so.
In Kenya that transition was, for a long time, less than 50% and today it has just tipped to over the 60% mark. Remember, this year alone, over 200,000 children are not going to Form One. In five years, we will have a million of them combining with the million of the last five years to become potential Mungiki if they are in Central Province; Sungu Sungu in Kisii; Baghdad Boys in Kisumu; Kamjesh in Nairobi or cattle rustlers in Pokot and Turkana.
In South Korea, the transition to post-secondary education is more than 70%. In Kenya, it is less than 10%.
Fellow Kenyans, POA has strategies to ensure that we accelerate the resolution of problems and challenges in our education sector, including providing opportunities to young people out of school to access the necessary training and retraining opportunities for a new industrial economy.
A POA government is youth-focused and therefore Kenya-focused because Kenya is primarily a young country.
We are clear about the Points of Action. We are clear about the places of action in all the 47 counties.We will take action – not just talk. If anybody doubts our resolve and determination, I will remind them that in this very building – KICC – just some nine years ago, I had the opportunity to exhibit resolve when we were able to reclaim this building and give it back to the people. Today it makes billions of shillings for this country. I was part of the resolve then as I am part of the resolve today, for the PARTY OF ACTION.
Fellow Kenyans, and especially young Kenyans, this is the time to take charge of our destiny. I therefore present to you… your Party… THE PARTY OF ACTION.
Thank you and God bless!
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