The East African Community, the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Penina Malonza has led the dissemination forum for the Kenya Vision 2030 Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP IV) 2023-2027 in Taita Taveta County.
The public engagement, attended by national and county government officials, youth leaders, civil society, religious leaders, and residents of Taita Taveta County, outlined the MTP IV programmes to be implemented in line with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Speaking in Voi, Malonza noted that it is the first time the government is involving residents in the dissemination of the Medium Term Plan, adding that a lot has been done in the three previous MTPs in various sectors such as roads, hospitals, and education.
The CS noted that MTP IV takes into consideration the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) to ensure synchronisation that will ensure the smooth running of different ministries for the benefit of the citizens.
“We are synchronising all these plans so that we can have a very firm and very rich Fourth-Term Medium plan,” said the CS.
She noted that the MTP IV plan has taken into consideration the well-being of every ministry in terms of the projections the country has for the next four years.
At the same time, the CS noted that an economic turnaround will be achieved through targeted investments across the five BETA pillars of Housing and Settlement, Agriculture, Healthcare, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy.
In her capacity, the CS stated that the country is widening and deepening her relations with the East African Community through integration between the eight member states.
She noted that plans are underway to open up the central corridor to enable the free movement of trucks from Kenya to Tanzania.
“Taita Taveta borders the United Republic of Tanzania, and of course we have the central corridor that we are really working on, actually between Uriri and Boba town in Tanzania. There is a black spot there that we have not interfaced in terms of the digital tracking system, and that is what we are working on. Soon, we are going to open up this corridor so that we can have trucks from here to Tanzania,” said Malonza.
Malonza added that the country is also working to open up an even wider market that will enable the trucks to move from Kenya through to the DRC and Central Africa.
“We are working on our relationship with Tanzania. You know the port of Mombasa is serving the central part of Central Africa, and so we are working on the tracking system so that we can open up that corridor so that we can see trucks all the way to the DRC and Central Africa,” she said.
She further noted that Kenya has maintained a good relationship with the East African Community countries that has facilitated cross-border activities, which will be further enhanced by the opening up of the central corridor.
By Arnold Linga Masila
