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There will be a smooth and peaceful transition after this year’s General Election, Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has assured development partners. 

Matiang’i yesterday said adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure elections are held peacefully and that there were elaborate plans in place to ensure the relevant instruments of power are handed over peacefully to whoever will form the next government. 

The minister was speaking at a Nairobi hotel during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on National Government development projects and development partners. 

Matiang’i used the forum to appraise the partners on election preparedness. The meeting was the first round-table gathering in two years after the routine briefings were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was also used to brief on the security environment, post Covid-19 Economic Recovery Strategy and budget implications for the completion of priority projects. 

Matiang’i said enough security agencies will be mobilised to provide adequate support to the electoral agency during the August 9 General Election. He emphasised more support will be provided to IEBC if and when needed. 

“We have given assurance to our partners that, as a country, we are ready to proceed and facilitate IEBC to conduct the elections. The agencies that have got the constitutional mandate to facilitate the commission during the elections are represented here,” he said.

Matiang’i stressed that collaboration under the national multi-sectoral consultative forum chaired by the Chief Justice was essential in aligning critical stakeholders to deliver a credible poll. 

He allayed concerns that the forum was usurping the role of the Wafula Chebukati-led Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

“Whether the country will have free and fair elections is a question that only Chebukati and IEBC can answer. We are clear that is the mandate of IEBC. Ours is to provide whatever support IEBC requires to get it done,” the CS said.  

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said the country’s economy was on the rebound with projected average GDP growth of 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year.  

Stimulus packages

He said the stimulus packages implemented by the government to cushion the economy during the pandemic were bearing fruits with agriculture and the hospitality industries recording impressive growth.

Briefing the same meeting, ICT CS Joe Mucheru said the government will respect the media space and will not shut down the Internet.

“We sadly note there is a lot of abuse of the media in the country and especially on social media. But we will not shut it down despite the provocation and temptation to do so,” CS Mucheru said.

French Ambassador to Kenya Aline Kuster-Menager, who is also the lead in convening the diplomatic corps, said regular briefing sessions reinforced development partners’ confidence in the country as an ideal investment destination.

“It is important for us partners as a group to interact very closely during this election time. It will help us better understand how the government is organising itself to achieve its results and bring continuity to our processes,” she said.

The meeting also outlined interventions necessary to support sustainable development, including the mitigation of climate change. It also emphasised the need for expeditious disbursement of funds to aid the implementation of development projects and programmes across the country. 

British High Commissioner Jane Marriot sought assurances that key foreign investments will not be negatively affected by election-related activities.

Responding to the diplomats’ concerns, Matiang’i said the government will hold regular briefing sessions on election preparedness with stakeholders. 

“We have taken counsel from our partners and observations from them on several issues, the CS said.

Among those present were Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, Environment CS Keriako Tobiko, Principal Secretaries Amb Macharia Kamau, Dr Julius Muia, and Dr Chris Kiptoo, Deputy Inspector General Noor Gabow, representatives of the UN agencies, World Bank, various ambassadors to Kenya, including Japan, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea among others.