Beyond Vision 2030: Panel to develop Kenya's goals, table Bill in Parliament

The panel will formulate a proposal that will be debated by all 47 county assemblies before being presented to the second National Conversation.

The proposal will then be developed into a bill to be tabled in Parliament for debate.

Top on the agenda for the multi-sectoral working panel will be gathering expert views from both the public and private sectors before drafting the proposal.

The proposal will be anchored on five key pillars, including health, education, infrastructure and security, before being subjected to grassroots stakeholders through county assemblies and other public forums.

Professor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o said the process will involve extensive engagement with Kenyans at the grassroots level.

“The deliberations will involve grassroots debate and civic education,” Nyong'o stated.

The recommendations from the grassroots engagements will then be incorporated into an updated proposal that will be discussed during another National Conversation forum.

If agreed upon through oral and written memoranda, the recommendations will then be taken to both Houses of Parliament in the form of a development bill.

Should the bill pass both the National Assembly and the Senate, it will be forwarded to the President for assent or returned to Parliament with proposed amendments.

Nyong'o said the most important aspect of the process is giving Kenyans an opportunity to determine the country's long-term development priorities.

“The most important aspect of the proposal is for Kenyans to chart their way forward in matters of development,” Nyong'o stated.

Nyong'o, who led a team of independent economic scholars that prepared strategic proposals and reflections for Kenya's long-term development plan beyond Vision 2030, insisted that the process should not be overshadowed by heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 General Election.

“In as much as the political atmosphere is charged ahead of campaigns, matters of development should be sustained because elections come and go,” Nyong'o noted. 

However, some stakeholders have questioned the timing of the process, with the country already entering the election cycle.

Speaking on Citizen TV's JKL, Bishop Mark Kariuki Sapit said the initiative could face challenges similar to those witnessed during the Building Bridges Initiative.

“Planning at this stage of election preparedness is giving us a BBI effect,” Sapit stated.

Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome said there was nothing wrong with long-term planning, but questioned whether the country was currently prioritising the right issues.

“There is no problem with planning, but are we doing the right things now first?” Lethome posed.

Meanwhile, organisers of the National Conversation have denied claims that some key stakeholders, including the Judiciary, were deliberately left out of Wednesday's event.

Nyong'o dismissed the claims, saying any delays in sending invitations were not deliberate.

“I don't think it was intentional for some invites to go late,” Nyong'o stated.