NAIROBI, Kenya — Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has criticised President William Ruto’s proposal to develop a successor to Kenya’s Vision 2030 development blueprint, arguing that the country’s long-term development agenda cannot be separated from the constitutional values that underpin governance.
In a statement issued shortly after President Ruto’s Special National Address on Thursday evening, Sifuna accused the Head of State of creating what he termed a “false equivalence” between economic development and the national values enshrined in the Constitution.
“Ruto just spent 40 minutes trying to create a false equivalence between our national values set out in the Constitution and his so-called ‘development’. Kenyans, please trust me when I tell you there is a reason the Preamble comes before Article 43,” Sifuna said.
“You don’t get to the ‘development’ clauses until and unless you have taken into account the reasons we passed this Constitution in the first place. Democracy, Human Rights, Freedom, Equality, Rule of Law and Social Justice.”
According to Sifuna, any national development blueprint must first be anchored on constitutional principles before pursuing economic transformation.
His remarks came after President Ruto formally unveiled plans for a nationwide process to develop a new long-term national development blueprint that will succeed Vision 2030 once it expires.
During the address, Ruto announced that the government will launch the National Conversation on Kenya’s Future Beyond Vision 2030 on August 12, 2026, describing it as the most consequential public participation exercise since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.
The President said the process would bring together all 47 counties, State institutions, political parties, the private sector, workers’ organisations, faith-based organisations, universities, professional bodies, civil society, innovators, creatives and young people to shape Kenya’s next development agenda.
“Our Constitution places public participation at the very heart of governance. It is therefore not merely my desire, but my constitutional duty, to ensure that the national vision which succeeds Vision 2030 is shaped through an inclusive, transparent, people-driven, and genuinely national process,” Ruto said.
He maintained that Kenya’s next long-term vision should emerge through broad national consensus rather than being designed solely by the government or a select group of experts.
“It cannot be crafted by a handful of experts, however distinguished, nor can it emerge from a single institution or political formation,” the President said.
Ruto disclosed that he had appointed a team led by Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o and Japanese political scientist Prof. Hiroyuki Hino to develop initial proposals on Kenya’s future beyond Vision 2030.
According to the President, the experts have already submitted recommendations envisioning Kenya as a prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation.
“The thrust of their proposals is both ambitious and achievable: that Kenya can become a prosperous, high-income, industrialised and globally competitive nation within one generation, provided we remain united in purpose, disciplined in execution and unwavering in our commitment to long-term national transformation,” Ruto said.
He clarified, however, that the proposals would only serve as the starting point for a wider national consultation.
“These proposals provide the foundation for a much broader national conversation; a conversation that now belongs not to Government, nor to its authors, but to every Kenyan,” he added.
The President noted that Vision 2030, which has guided Kenya’s development agenda for nearly two decades, is approaching the end of its implementation period, presenting an opportunity to assess its achievements and shortcomings while crafting a new national vision.
Sifuna, however, maintained that constitutional principles must remain the cornerstone of any future development framework, arguing that democracy, human rights, equality, the rule of law and social justice are prerequisites for meaningful and sustainable national development.
