Agenda Kenya

The elevation of Eldoret into a City last week by President William Ruto not only gave Kenya its fifth strategic region, but it is also expected to accelerate the town’s growth and transformation.

The government seeks to accelerate the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) through the 3.9trillion Budget unveiled last Thursday, allocating funds for various projects and initiatives aimed at benefiting mwananchi under the five BETA pillars. The Budget focuses on enhancing agricultural transformation, supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), boosting affordable housing, achieving universal healthcare, and growing the digital superhighway and creative economy for job creation.

President William Ruto’s recent four-day visit to Bungoma has left a significant mark on the county, with various initiatives expected to transform the region into an economic powerhouse. These projects, spanning education, immigration, infrastructure, and agriculture, spotlight Bungoma as one of Kenya’s strategic regions and align with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, placing regional development at the heart of national growth.

The commissioning by President William Ruto of over 7,000 extension officers to help farmers boost food security tops key initiatives announced during the 61st Madaraka Day celebrations to
transform Kenya’s agricultural sector. The 7,000 agribusiness experts will encourage farmers to adopt improved methods of farming. President Ruto, who led the festivities themed “Agriculture and Food Security,” at Masinde Muliro Stadium in Bungoma County, said the experts would work with farmers to boost production across the country.

President William Ruto’s historic State Visit to the US last week has elevated Kenya’s international standing, marking a significant moment for the country’s diplomatic relations.
The visit highlighted Kenya as an important investment destination, its crucial role in regional security and stability and fast-rising status as a digital hub in the continent. Kenya without doubt won big during the visit after bagging various multibillion shillings deals that span across various sectors, including healthcare, education, road and transport, digital technology, security, agriculture and climate mitigation.

Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have stepped up efforts to plant trees across the country, sustaining the tempo set by President William Ruto on May 10 during the National Tree Planting Day. All MDAs have been allocated sites to plant trees and targets to achieve in a six-month drive that kicked off during the May 10 tree planting holiday. The institutions have taken up the challenge guns blazing, according to the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.

Millions of trees were planted during the recent National Tree Planting Day as part of measures being spearheaded by the government in efforts to mitigate climate change effects. The government had set a target of the country planting 200 million trees during the day. President William Ruto led the nation in the tree planting exercise that was also used to honour the about 270 people killed by floods following the recent heavy rains. The growing of trees is part of the efforts to reverse the effects of climate change, which include frequent droughts and destructive floods. Read more on how trees would help Kenya mitigate the effects of climate change

Kenya rallied the continent to fast-track digital connectivity and transformation as the country held Connected Africa Summit 2024 last week in Nairobi. The Summit, which was attended by over 5,000 delegates from 49 countries from across the world as well as 16 digital and technology ministers from the continent, saw the coming up of the “Nairobi Declaration on Fostering a Connected and Empowered Africa”.