Raila: Kibaki via PNU transformed Kenya

• Feb 25, 2022

Raila: Kibaki via PNU transformed Kenya

By Raila Odinga
I retain very fond memories of the Party of National Unity (PNU), the party of our most transformative President, my Grand Coalition partner, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki.

That you are willing to work together with ODM and Jubilee among other parties aligned to Azimio la Umoja confirms the journey of reconciliation and forgiveness going on in the country. Fierce competitors of the past are becoming partners for Kenya.

I urge this party to continue the legacy of service, transformation and humility that Mwai Kibaki brought to this nation and helped to transform the country.

Today, Kenya, like many nations, faces numerous challenges: our economy is not strong enough to care for our people.

Our youth are out of jobs. Our elderly are not adequately taken care of in retirement. Our agriculture is unable to feed our people and earn us adequate foreign exchange.

Our education and learning institutions are experiencing serious challenges.

We have a lot do in areas like manufacturing, infrastructure, health care and information technology to create wealth and employment.

Virtually all Kenyans are caught in a feeling that however hard they try; they just can’t make ends meet.

There can be no denying that the country needs massive efforts to promote and protect the small-scale businesses from unfair competition particularly from foreigners.

These challenges can be overcome. We have overcome before. We can overcome today.

The country is ripe for the Third and final liberation.

Our first liberation brought us Uhuru. And as you know the former leader Mwai Kibaki was in that independence struggle.

The Second Liberation brought us a new and progressive constitution. Mwai Kibaki was in that too.

The Third Liberation that we all agree needs to happen, must bring tangible economic prosperity to our people, with a clear pathway for upward social mobility.
Like the first two liberations, the third liberation will require unity of purpose and clarity of direction.

That is the vision of Azimio la Umoja. We are determined to create the political and ideological unity that we require to confront the problems afflicting our people.

 Our plan includes rolling out an all-out war poverty and unemployment in Kenya, tackling healthcare challenges through more hospitals, more well-paid and motivated health workers and health insurance.

We plan to create a broadly shared and widely supported vision on the education of our children with more schools, more trained, well paid and motivated teachers and focused learners.

 We have plans for a broadly-shared and vision to help each and every Kenyan citizen fulfill their basic hopes--hopes for a fair chance for upward social mobility, a full-time job on full-time pay; decent homes, good schools for children with good teachers; and security when faced with sickness or unemployment or old age.

We have plans for a fair deal particularly for our vulnerable citizens like single mothers, widows, the disabled and the elderly.

The Messiah came on earth and left over 2000 years ago. There is no Messiah here in Kenya or anywhere else on earth. No single man or woman can claim to be able to single handedly fix the many problems facing this nation. We have to do it together.
We believe that to address the problems afflicting our people in sustainable manner, we must meticulously cultivate an inclusive political establishment and use it to pursue our aspirations, confront our nightmares and denounce our prejudices.

I am keen that we join hands one more time and complete the work we started.
Let’s avoid people touting solutions that have never worked anywhere.

We know how we transformed this country with Kibaki as President, Raila as Prime Minister and Uhuru as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance. Let’s come together and do it again.

Let’s avoid people who have failed us before because they will fail us again.

When the National Rainbow Coalition took over in 2003, our economy was growing at zero percent. Donors had cut funding to Kenya. Corruption was our best performing industry.

Now some of the people who handed to Mwai Kibaki an economy running at zero percent in 2003 are now lecturing us on how badly our economy is doing and how good they can be in fixing it. It is a shame. It is a lie.

All the Kenya Kwanza principals were in or were associated with the government that in 2003 handed over to Kenyans an economy that was stuck at zero per cent, a dilapidated infrastructure, a collapsing education system, a dead health sector and a horrible international image. They did not fix anything back then. They will not fix anything now or in future.

The grand unity in Narc helped fix the zero percent economy they bequeathed us. Unity under the Grand Coalition helped us fix the economy that the post-election violence bequeathed us.

My unity and handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018 brought stability to our land. It gave the president space to work for Kenyans. It ended the era of blackmail, endless politicking and threats he was being subjected to.

The hostage takers fled when the Handshake happened, and the country has been able to move forward.

So when we say we have the will and the experience required to fix our country, the other side should listen, trust and obey. They have a record of reckoning the country. We have a record of fixing the country. With unity, we shall never fail.
I appeal that we work together again and take Kenya forward.
Thank you.

Raila made the remarks during PNU National Delegates Congress that endorsed him for presidency.