SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE LEASED MOTOR VEHICLES FOR THE NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE AT UHURU PARK GROUNDS, NAIROBI, ON 7TH NOVEMBER, 2013 Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen; I am indeed very pleased to join you all this afternoon, to preside over the official launch of the first batch of the planned procurement of one thousand and one hundred (1,100) ational !olice "ervice motor vehicles# $his launch mar%s an important milestone in our journey to&ard the reforms and moderni'ation of (enya)s internal security services# It is the first time ever for any Administration to ac*uire, all at one +o, over one thousand motor vehicles for a sin+le department in Government# I commend the ational $reasury, the ,inistry of Interior and -oordination and the ational !olice "ervice for their joint effort and dili+ent &or% that has made this e.ercise possible# $he ac*uisition of these essential vehicles &ill, &ithout doubt, si+nificantly improve mobility of our police and, in turn, facilitate enhanced security operations throu+hout the country# Ladies and Gentlemen, As you are a&are, my Government is fully committed to transformin+ (enya to a middle income country in line &ith our /ision 0010 blueprint# $his means &e have to +ro& our economy by an annual avera+e rate of 102; and to achieve this objective, &e have to +ive a lead role to the private sector to complement +overnment development initiatives# 3e are &ell a&are for the private sector to invest and therefore effectively play its role in promotin+ development of our country, the business environment must be ri+ht# 3e are ta%in+ a number of measures, li%e the "in+le !ort -ommunity &indo&, reformin+ the company la&s, e.cetra, all meant to reduce the cost of doin+ business# Indeed in our /ision 0010blueprint, priority is +iven to investments in transport, lo+istics and other infrastructure, includin+ ener+y to reduce cost of doin+ business and ma%e our products cheaper and competitive# It also +ives priority to investin+ in rural development, a+ricultural productivity and food security to e.pand food supply, reduce prices and support e.pansion of a+ro4processin+ industry#

3e also reco+ni'e the importance of macroeconomic stability# $herefore, as part of our strate+ic positionin+, &e are strivin+ to sustain macroeconomic stability, deepen structural reforms, stren+then +overnance, and improve security and enforcement of la& in order to create conducive business environment to encoura+e investment and e.pand employment# 5ut a measure, &hich &e consider critical and as the bedroc% for sustained socio4economic development, is security# Assurin+ our people and our business community protection of their lives and property is fundamental# 3e %no& very &ell &ithout security, hardly any investment &ill ta%e place, and, therefore, our dream of a prosperous and e*uitable (enya &ill remain a mere rhetoric# $his is the reason &hy my Administration is ta%in+ bold measures to enhance security as an inte+ral part of this economic transformation a+enda, &hose main objective is +ro& our economy to be more robust and more inclusive 6 achievin+ a middle income status in the ne.t five years# As I have already indicated, this level of prosperity &ill only be attained if supported by a stable and secure environment 6 an environment in &hich both ordinary (enyans and our investors feel secure and free to conduct their businesses, build enterprises, investment, nurture talents and innovate in order to e.pand the frontier of economic opportunities for all# Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me underscore that the police reform and moderni'ation pro+ram alone is not enou+h to support the reali'ation of our development +oals 4 &e must also reform the &ider public service to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in order to facilitate the private sector as the %ey driver of investment, +ro&th and employment# $he aim of police reform and moderni'ation is to build a hi+hly efficient, &ell4e*uipped, competent, motivated and responsive police service that dischar+es duties impartially and deals firmly &ith criminals# ,y Administration has adopted a comprehensive strate+y to reform and moderni'e the security services, buildin+ on the reform momentum initiated in 0007# $he ne& -onstitution and subse*uent le+islation on the operations of the ational !olice "ervice further provide impetus for our reform a+enda# $his reform, the basis of &hich this launch of the motor vehicles is dovetailed covers five broad areas# $hese areas include8 1# Investment in security infrastructure such as housin+, security installations and trainin+ facilities; 0# Ac*uisition and up+radin+ of security e*uipment and forensic facilities;

1# Investin+ in mobility of the police operations, includin+ motor vehicles and air and &ater transport services; 9# $rainin+ and s%ill developments as &ell as personnel mana+ement; and :# 5uildin+ sustainable partnership &ith communities and other security a+encies# As (enyans are a&are, &e have moved s&iftly to initiate implementation of these reforms# Accordin+ly, &e have provided additional resources in this year)s bud+et to&ards specific security related reform measures# $hese measures, &hich &ill be provided in addition to e.istin+ annual bud+et allocations over the ne.t five years amount to (sh#11 billion, and, include8 (i) (sh#9 billion for ac*uisition of modern security e*uipment; (ii) (sh#9#: billion for enhanced security operations; (iii) (sh#1#: billion for crime research and investi+ations; and (iv) (sh#1 billion for financin+ leasin+ of 1,000 motor vehicles and fuelin+ them in order to enhance mobility and improve operations and visibility#

Ladies and Gentlemen, In our ;ubilee ,anifesto, &e pled+ed to tac%le insecurity# ,otori'in+ the police force is one of the measures &e have adopted to enhance security operations and provide a secure environment for our people# 3e are, therefore, +athered here today to &itness the fulfillment of this pled+e, by launchin+ the first batch of the 1,100 motor vehicles, ac*uired, throu+h an operatin+ lease, for the ational !olice "ervice# It is, ho&ever, instructive to note the rationale underpinnin+ my Administration decision to embrace leasin+ as an alternative option to providin+ +overnment transport services# <irst, +iven bud+et constraints, leasin+ enables us to front4load access to as many fully serviced motor vehicles, &hich &ould not have been possible under direct purchase, for provision of enhanced security service delivery# "econd, it stimulates +ro&th of the local motor vehicle assembly industry by +eneratin+ bac%&ard and for&ard lin%a+es to locally associated industries and businesses such as vehicle parts and repair and maintenance# $hese activities &ill create thousands of jobs for our people, especially the youth# $hird, lease financin+ also promotes development of the financial sector, &hich is critical to our +ro&th and development# Goin+ for&ard, the Government has adopted leasin+ as a frame&or% for providin+ access to critical assets necessary to facilitate faster and efficient service delivery#

!lans are under under&ay to e.pand leasin+ to other assets, startin+ &ith leasin+ of medical e*uipment, in the course of this fiscal year# It is important to note that the success of this leasin+ arran+ement for motor vehicles depends on ho& effectively and responsibly &e mana+e it# $herefore, to achieve the intended objectives of motor vehicle leasin+ and to complement police reform effort, the Government &ill shortly install a fleet mana+ement system in each and every vehicle# I e.pect the e.istin+ fleet of the ational !olice "ervice vehicles, to+ether &ith those of "tate =epartments, to be +radually brou+ht under the fleet so as to reduce &aste, assure responsible and safe drivin+ and enhance lon+evity of our fleet# As I conclude, I &ould li%e to reiterate our commitment to assurin+ every (enyan and investor of their safety and security# I e.pect the ational !olice "ervice to ensure that their presence is felt throu+hout the country# $his &ay, criminals &ill have to find alternative and more productive en+a+ement that contributes positively to&ard our development a+enda# $oday, &e are embar%in+ on a journey to motori'e and empo&er our security officers under the ational !olice "ervice to ably tac%le any element of insecurity that may occur any&here throu+hout the country# $he ac*uisition of this first 77 security motor vehicles, fully e*uipped and fueled, &ill +o alon+ &ay to&ard ensurin+ safety and security of (enyans &herever they live and +o about their daily businesses# 3ith these fe& remar%s, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is no& my pleasure to officially launch the first 77 of the one thousand and one hundred (1,100) motor vehicles on operatin+ lease to the ational !olice "ervices# $han% >ou All and God 5less >ou#