Key sponsors of Uhuru's Big 4 Agenda, on Tuesday, March 3 made their way to State House Nairobi, where President Uhuru Kenyatta played host.
A statement sent to Kenyans.co.ke reported that the delegation of strategic partners was full of praise for the president, whose development track record was described as impressive.
IMF Resident Representative Tobias Rasmussen praised Kenya for the strides it has made in its fiscal management that has ensured the reduction of external debt and growth of revenue.
He went on to express his satisfaction with the way the government had managed its recurrent expenditure through austerity measures, as well as the settlement of pending bills, which has had a multiplier effect on the economy and helped re-ignite the growth of the private sector.
Rasmussen also lauded the government for the removal of the interest caps on loans, saying the move has helped to release funds to the private sector.
On his part, the president expressed his satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of a framework to coordinate external development support in the country.
“We appreciate the support we have continued to receive from the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations and all our development partners,” Uhuru stated.
The development partners who attended the meeting included World Bank Vice President for Africa Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Kenya Country Director Carlos Felipe and European Union Head of Delegation Simon Mordue as well as several ambassadors and high commissioners.
President Uhuru re-assured each one of them that his government would not relent on its war against corruption, to ensure that any funds coming in from the donors would be tasked to carry out the purpose for which it was intended.
“We believe we are making good progress on this front. We will continue fighting corruption and we welcome your support on this,” the President told the donor agencies,' he announced.
He went on to urge his development partners to increase their support on priority areas that include Universal Health Coverage, housing, road construction, water, and school infrastructure development.
“With the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school, there is pressure to accommodate the rising numbers. That is why the development of school infrastructure is also a key priority,” Uhuru told the delegation of sponsors.
He further asked them to re-allocate un-utilized resources to complete ongoing projects across the country.
World Bank Country Director Carlos Felipe was thoroughly impressed with President Uhuru's track record, "With the pace of reforms by the Government of Kenya, we look forward to working more closely on the economic front as well as addressing challenges like the Coronavirus," he declared.
Several other leaders went on to echo the leader's sentiments, with Japanese Ambassador to Kenya Ryoichi Horie reiterating his country's commitment to supporting Kenya in tackling the desert locust challenge, saying the importation of chemicals to tackle the invasion is ongoing.
The meeting was also attended by the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and the Cabinet Sub-committee on development led by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
