Sifuna tears into President Ruto's post-Vision 2030 blueprint pitch

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has criticised President William Ruto's latest push to develop a successor to Kenya's Vision 2030 blueprint, accusing the Head of State of creating a "false equivalence" between constitutional values and economic development.

In a statement issued shortly after President Ruto's Special National Address on Thursday evening, Sifuna argued that Kenya's development agenda cannot be divorced from the principles enshrined in the Constitution.

"Ruto just spent 40 minutes trying to create a false equivalence between our national values set out in the Constitution and his so-called 'development'. Kenyans, please trust me when I tell you there is a reason the Preamble comes before Article 43," said the Linda Mwananchi movement leader.

"You don't get to the 'development' clauses until and unless you have taken into account the reasons we passed this Constitution in the first place. Democracy, Human Rights, Freedom, Equality, Rule of Law and Social Justice."

His remarks came after President Ruto formally launched a nationwide process to develop a new long-term national development blueprint that will replace Vision 2030 once it expires, inviting Kenyans to participate in shaping the country's next development agenda.

During the address, the President framed the proposed blueprint as a roadmap for Kenya's next phase of socio-economic transformation, saying the process would be anchored on broad public participation and aimed at positioning the country for sustained growth beyond 2030.

Ruto announced that the government will formally launch a National Conversation on Kenya's Future Beyond Vision 2030 on August 12, 2026, describing it as the most consequential public participation exercise since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.

He said the process would bring together every institution of the Republic, all 47 counties and representatives from across society, insisting the successor to Vision 2030 must be driven by Kenyans rather than government.

"Our Constitution places public participation at the very heart of governance. It is therefore not merely my desire, but my constitutional duty, to ensure that the national vision which succeeds Vision 2030 is shaped through an inclusive, transparent, people-driven, and genuinely national process,” he said.

According to the President, political parties, the private sector, workers' organisations, faith communities, universities, professional associations, innovators, civil society, creative industries and young people will all participate in crafting the country's next development charter.

In a notable political development, Ruto revealed that he had invited Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o and Japanese scholar Prof. Hiroyuki Hino, alongside other experts, to begin examining Kenya's future beyond Vision 2030.

"It was in that spirit that I invited Professor Hiroyuki Hino, Professor Anyang' Nyong'o and their distinguished colleagues to begin examining Kenya's future beyond Vision 2030," the President said.

He disclosed that the team had already submitted proposals outlining strategic guidelines for Kenya's long-term transformation, saying they envision a prosperous, industrialised and globally competitive country within one generation.

"The thrust of their proposals is both ambitious and achievable: that Kenya can become a prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation, provided we remain united in purpose, disciplined in execution and unwavering in our commitment to long-term national transformation,” Ruto stated.

The Head of State maintained that the next national vision should not be crafted by government or a select group of experts, but through a broad national consensus.

"Those interactions reinforced one conviction above all others: a vision worthy of guiding Kenya for the next generation cannot be written by Government. It cannot be crafted by a handful of experts, however distinguished, nor can it emerge from a single institution or political formation," he said.

Ruto said the proposals submitted by the expert team would serve only as the foundation for a wider national conversation.

"These proposals provide the foundation for a much broader national conversation; a conversation that now belongs not to Government, nor to its authors, but to every Kenyan,” he added.

The President noted that while Vision 2030 had guided Kenya's development agenda for nearly two decades, it was approaching its intended horizon and some of its ambitions, including attaining upper-middle-income status by 2030, remained unmet.

He said the transition offered an opportunity to reflect on the country's achievements and shortcomings while charting a new long-term path. 

“For two decades, Vision 2030 shaped our national development priorities, informed public policy, catalysed investment, and most importantly inspired the promulgation of our new Constitution,” he stated.

“As Vision 2030 approaches its horizon, our responsibility is not simply to replace it with another Government development plan. Our responsibility is far greater under the 2010 Constitution: to craft a new national development charter that gives effect to the development imperatives enshrined in the Constitution and to decide, together, what kind of Kenya we want to build over the next generation, and beyond.”

However, Sifuna argued that the Constitution places governance principles ahead of development objectives, insisting that any national vision must first be grounded in democracy, human rights, equality, the rule of law and social justice before pursuing economic progress.