Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has announced that Kenya should shift gear from aid dependency to laying a foundation on how to attract trade and investment.

Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland, he said Kenya must adopt and actualize policy shifts strategically focusing on how to generate adequate resources to fund its critical programs.

He warned Kenya and Africa that the era of aid dependency has come to an end, and they should be thinking of quick and sustainable alternative ways to support their economies.

“The geopolitics and shifting global dynamics being witnessed is a clear indicator that we should be looking at ways of being self-reliant moving into the future.”

PCS Musalia Mudavadi during the Western Kenya Edition of the Diaspora Job Fair In Vihiga, 29, August 2024.

Photo

Musalia Mudavadi

“We cannot afford to prevaricate. Other countries are making their own moves. We must make ours now,” he said.

The Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary stated that Kenya’s strategic position as the regional economic and financial hub puts it in an advantageous space to advance that course.

“Parliament must be quick in decision-making on this agenda. County governments and the executive must also act swiftly and embrace a stronger partnership with the private sector across the board, whether in agriculture, manufacturing, industry, finance, technology, or other sectors,” noted Mudavadi.

He cautioned countries that have been relying on foreign aid and donor funding, warning that they should be wary of the moves being made by certain countries and capitals, particularly Washington, and instead establish a solid foundation for their future.

“In the colonial days, they used to talk about the scramble for Africa, where everyone wanted a piece of Africa. But now, it is our turn as Africans to scramble for our own investments,” said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi urged Kenyans to support the government’s programmes and policies, emphasising that the message from the international arena is clear—countries must now take responsibility for their own healthcare programmes.

He stated that healthcare sector programmes would no longer be underwritten by donors or partners, and Kenyans must prepare to adopt sustainable solutions for the future.

“What was once seen as unpopular must now be taken more seriously because it was never about popularity—it was about safeguarding the health of the Kenyan people,” he added.

“The Universal Health Care must now shift from the angle at which it was being seen to now be seen as a serious lifesaving program for the people of Kenya,” he added.

Mudavadi has, however, called on the clean-up of some areas within the implementation framework of the roll-out of the Universal Health Care program.

He said serious financial adjustments have to be undertaken since bodies like the World Health Organization are not sure of the sustainability of their funding and others like USAID have been wound up.

According to Mudavadi, Kenya funds at least 40% of its own resources and 60% are funded by the partners.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi during the launch of Kenya's new Peacebuilding Architecture report on December 19, 2024.

Ministry of Interior