Kenya
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
STA TEMENT ON THE OVERALL REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21,
THE PROGRAMME FOR THE FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21 AND
THE JOHANNESBURG PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION BY THE LEADER OF THE
KENYAN DELEGATION TO CSD 12,21 s' APRIL, 2004, NEW YORK
Mr. Chairman,
1 . We are convinced that this Review Session will bring about an improved understanding of
priority concerns towards the achievement of sustainable development, and in particular
those related to water, sanitation and human settlements .
Mr. Chairman,
2. Despite domestic and international actions, implementation continues to be constrained by
several old and emerging challenges . Inadequate global and domestic resources to fund
sustainable development initiatives, fragmentation in the implementation of Agenda 21 and
the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and the apparent lack of political commitment to
the goals of sustainable development continue to limit our achievements .
3. The Secretary General's report before this Session reveals a grim picture on Africa. The
poverty rate has increased, the hunger situation has deteriorated and the malnourished
proportion of the population has increased to be the highest in the world. The impact of
HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases loom much larger . Many countries in the region are
likely to miss at least one of the three goals of education-universal primary net enrolment,
improvement in adult literacy and gender parity in education .
Mr. Chairman,
4. We strongly believe that unless we take deliberate corrective and positive actions now, the
goals of halving by 2015, the proportion of our people whose income is less than 1 US dollar
a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, as called for in the Millennium
Declaration and reaffirmed by the JPOI, will remain but a mirage . These challenges can be
addressed through renewed political will, practical steps and genuine partnerships to promote
sustainable development in Africa .
Kenya, like most other countries, has in the recent past, embraced appropriate social and
economic reforms in line with her commitments to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the
I
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. My country has undertaken policy, legal, and
institutional reforms in various development and environmental sectors. We have identified
poverty and unemployment as the biggest challengesfacing us, and have developed a national
Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation. The strategy translates both
the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan and the agreed poverty related commitments
contained in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation into a concrete programme of action .
Among the key priority actions that the strategy addresses include :
i)
Improving poor peoples access to productive resources ;
ii)
iii Expanding accessibility to primary health care to all irrespective of their
income, age, sex and social status; and
iii)
jK Maintaining an , enabling environment for investment and socio-economic
development through enhanced security, law and order .
Mr. Chairman,
6. Successful implementation of activities aimed at protecting the natural resource base for
economic and social development still remain a challenge to many of us . Land degradation
deforestation, drought, and desertification continue to impact negatively on biodiversity, in
the process accelerating poverty . A lot remains to be done to achieve the goals and targets
set by the Millennium Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) .
Sustained efforts should be made to assist developing countries in particular Africa to create
the necessary enabling environment for foreign direct invent in the area of infrastructure
development and capacity building . Additional resources, credible partnership arrangements
that encourage technology transfer need to be enhanced . A
Thank you.
STA TEMENT ON THE OVERALL REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21,
THE PROGRAMME FOR THE FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION OF AGENDA 21 AND
THE JOHANNESBURG PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION BY THE LEADER OF THE
KENYAN DELEGATION TO CSD 12,21 s' APRIL, 2004, NEW YORK
Mr. Chairman,
1 . We are convinced that this Review Session will bring about an improved understanding of
priority concerns towards the achievement of sustainable development, and in particular
those related to water, sanitation and human settlements .
Mr. Chairman,
2. Despite domestic and international actions, implementation continues to be constrained by
several old and emerging challenges . Inadequate global and domestic resources to fund
sustainable development initiatives, fragmentation in the implementation of Agenda 21 and
the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and the apparent lack of political commitment to
the goals of sustainable development continue to limit our achievements .
3. The Secretary General's report before this Session reveals a grim picture on Africa. The
poverty rate has increased, the hunger situation has deteriorated and the malnourished
proportion of the population has increased to be the highest in the world. The impact of
HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases loom much larger . Many countries in the region are
likely to miss at least one of the three goals of education-universal primary net enrolment,
improvement in adult literacy and gender parity in education .
Mr. Chairman,
4. We strongly believe that unless we take deliberate corrective and positive actions now, the
goals of halving by 2015, the proportion of our people whose income is less than 1 US dollar
a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, as called for in the Millennium
Declaration and reaffirmed by the JPOI, will remain but a mirage . These challenges can be
addressed through renewed political will, practical steps and genuine partnerships to promote
sustainable development in Africa .
Kenya, like most other countries, has in the recent past, embraced appropriate social and
economic reforms in line with her commitments to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the
I
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. My country has undertaken policy, legal, and
institutional reforms in various development and environmental sectors. We have identified
poverty and unemployment as the biggest challengesfacing us, and have developed a national
Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation. The strategy translates both
the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan and the agreed poverty related commitments
contained in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation into a concrete programme of action .
Among the key priority actions that the strategy addresses include :
i)
Improving poor peoples access to productive resources ;
ii)
iii Expanding accessibility to primary health care to all irrespective of their
income, age, sex and social status; and
iii)
jK Maintaining an , enabling environment for investment and socio-economic
development through enhanced security, law and order .
Mr. Chairman,
6. Successful implementation of activities aimed at protecting the natural resource base for
economic and social development still remain a challenge to many of us . Land degradation
deforestation, drought, and desertification continue to impact negatively on biodiversity, in
the process accelerating poverty . A lot remains to be done to achieve the goals and targets
set by the Millennium Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) .
Sustained efforts should be made to assist developing countries in particular Africa to create
the necessary enabling environment for foreign direct invent in the area of infrastructure
development and capacity building . Additional resources, credible partnership arrangements
that encourage technology transfer need to be enhanced . A
Thank you.
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