Statement by

Hon. Chris Okemo

Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kenya

Geneva, 30 June 2000

Mr. President, Secretary General, Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. When we gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995, we committed ourselves in front of the world to pursue with determination the goals of social development that we had identified. At that time we in Kenya believed the conference would be the springboard from which we would together create a more humane and understanding world.

2. In 1995 many hoped that economic development would gradually but surely improve all our lives and that we had come together to chart a way forward that would benefit the bulk of humanity. Well, dear friends, we all know that the contrary is true, social development in those parts of the world that tile conference was meant to benefit has in the best case scenario, stagnated, and in the worst case scenario deteriorated to an all time low.

3. I recall that after our meeting, we resolved to implement ten commitments. While all these commitments were capable of standing alone, from my point of view, their overriding objective was the eradication of poverty. We all expected that our resources and energy after that seminal event, would be directed at meeting tile challenge of that objective enshrined in commitment two "to eradicate poverty in the world, through decisive national actions and international co-operation, as all ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind".

4. In my own country Kenya, the problems of poverty have been thrust to centre stage. SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan's insistence on a people-centred approach to development resonates with ours. Thirty-seveli years after independence, we are threatened by perilously low standards of living among our peoples. Economic growth has slowed mainly due to globalization on one hand, al-id l'lateral disasters on the other, as well as the goal-shifting mind-set of' some of out- bilateral and multilateral partners. Traditional social safety systems which hay a been tried and tested over centuries in Africa, have now been undermined and have collapsed as a result. In order to cope with the impending loss of these safety nets, at independence in 1963, Kenya initiated a self-Help policy we called "Harambee" in which projects initiated by community based needs were implemented by voluntary contributions either in cash or in kind. For example, schools, hospitals, roads, cattle dips, coffee factories were constructed through this approach. These voluntary contributions were intended to complement and not replace the Government driven development process. They were, in any event, not sufficient to meet the development needs of our society. In fact, shortly thereafter, nwe approaches to complement both existing government efforts and "Harambee" had to be found. We still believe that it will be through decisive international action and co-operation that poverty will eventually be tackled.

5. The approach that we have persued so far to fight poverty has not had the desired effects and I am cony inced that the time has come to give our people the means, the tools and the capacity to produce for themselves. In fact some of the policies embarked upon oven the years have had the net capital effect of ads ersely impacting our economic capacity.

6. Since independence Kenya has consistently tried "to create an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development'". Consequently, the Kenya Government has put in place structures to ensure that private sector is able to work free of interference Those sectors which were the domain of Government have been privatised. these include basic infrastructure-type sectors, such as posts and telecommunications Whereas we have established appropriate conditions to facilitate free trade; the negative impact of privatisation and liberalization has diminished their import. Indeed, the very core of this first commitment has forced us to design programmes to ameliorate the negative effects. We must continue to insist that structural adjustment programmes agreed to, must have a human face and dimension. We believe that development should incorporate the entire society.

7. Education is the only way out of the grip of poverty. Statistics show that in all other countries that have access to education and its vigorous utilization, impressive growth has resulted in lifting all, in a tide of affluence that benefits the whole society. Because of our ever changing needs, now dominated by the logic of globalization, Kenya continues to adapt its educational system to these changes. In this regard, it is worth stressing that we leave put in place policies that favour education in the sciences and we hope that the positive effects of this policy will be seen in the near future. We see this commitment as incorporating equality and gender-relevant access to quality education, buttressed by the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Indeed, as we strive to improve our education systems, we also struggle to improve the infrastructure and performance of our health systems. In particular, at the primary healthcare level by broadening access to health care.

8. We lave discussed at length where appropriate global emphasis should be, and how to proceed. I hope that the words do not drown the ideas and the required practical measures. On my part, I know that the key to true social development lies in eradicating poverty. We must therefore continue to stress this fact. The Bretton Woods institutions must adapt and be responsive to changing circumstances without shifting goal posts. Bilateral and multi-lateral debt must be written off for those countries that meet the criteria. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative so far has benefited too few countries. The threshold must be lowered to include countries like Kenya that have done a lot, but are yet to be Rewarded. Regional integration and the exploitation of economies of scale has motivated us in the East African Community to look beyond purely national horizons and we urgently heed international support to complement our regional efforts. We believe that economic integration will assist in the achievement of true independence and development for our people. The growth of our economies will enable us to address the problem of unemployment, a scourge that has to be looked at seriously, otherwise we will have neither social development nor political stability. Commitment 8 and its goals push us along the right path. In addition. for our discussions to be relevant today, access to technology and the Internet must be democratised.

9. Allow me to say a couple of words on the problem of corruption. This disease continues to eat at the fabric of our societies. Kenya has taken robust action to deal with this evil and many have been brought to book from the highest in our society to the lowest. We will continue to actively wage this war and I know in time we will succeed. However, this war cannot be waged by an individual or by a country on its own since the links and networks of corruption are deep and global. The solutions must therefore be holistic arid global in nature. National private sectors, together with multinationals, must agree with governments on a common code-of-conduct and appropriate punitive measures to ensure effectiveness. Although attitudes must change, greed and poverty are the culprits we must relentlessly fight in order to eliminate corruption.

10. In conclusion, Mr. President, our collective political will, backed by financial resources to ensure a people-centred economic and social development, and sharpened by our resolve to make this millennium a peaceful one, must be mobilized to cope with the challenges It is only then that our goal of social development will be achieved. Proactive energetic multi-lateralism coupled with our common desire to globalize, we hope, will one day enable the African lion to sit with the Asian tiger at the table with the eagles, the rising sun, and others as equals desirous of making our world a better place to live in.

Thank You.