President William Ruto has defended his use of firm timelines for government projects, saying he deliberately makes timelines part of his engagements to ensure projects are completed.
Ruto said Kenyans know him as someone who keeps timelines, adding that his experience has informed his approach to setting deadlines for projects.
The President said he had told Suleiman Shabal and DP World company that the Mombasa Special Economic Zone must be completed within the next six months.
“The people of Kenya know me as somebody who keeps and makes sure that timelines are part of my engagement. And I do so deliberately, because I have been around for a while. And it is also the reason why I have told our friends Shabal and DP World that this zone must be complete in the next six months,” Ruto said.
Ruto said the project had been part of plans for the area for 15 years, noting that it had also featured in plans by CS Hassan Joho, Shabal and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
“Because as you have heard, this zone was part of Ali Hassan Joho's plan 15 years ago. It was also part of the plan of Shabal and Abdul Swamat when they were competing.”
The President spoke at State House Nairobi, after witnessing the signing of a tripartite agreement between the County Government of Mombasa, Mombasa Free Zone Ltd and DP World for the development of the Sh12 billion Mombasa Special Economic Zone.
Ruto said special economic zones were central to his Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, as they provide a platform to build industries, expand exports, create jobs and connect farmers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers to domestic, regional and global value chains.
He said Kenya must move away from exporting raw and minimally processed commodities and instead increase processing and manufacturing.
“We must move away from exporting raw and minimally processed commodities. We must process more of what we produce, manufacture more of what we consume, and export competitive, finished products,” the President said.
The special economic zone is located on 535 acres in Jomvu and is linked to the Standard Gauge Railway and regional transport corridors.
According to Ruto, the first phase of the project will create 10,000 jobs and position Mombasa as a hub where products are made, processed, assembled, branded and exported to the East African Community, COMESA and the wider African market.
The President said the project would help transform Kenya from an agricultural economy into a production and export-oriented economy.
