SPEECH BY H.

E UHURU KENYATTA, CGH, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE RAPID RESULTS INITIATIVE (RRI) AT KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE ON 6TH FEBRUARY 2014. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me, first of all, thank you all for coming. It is an honour to be in the company of distinguished men and women who serve in our disciplined forces. The Constitution and our laws charge you, our disciplined forces, with a duty of great dignity: it places the protection of our lives and property in your hands. I share this responsibility with you. o, like you, I feel the weight.

!ut we have no choice as long as we have accepted to serve the "enyan people. Indeed, the ecurity ector #apid #esults Initiative we are launching today is in respect of discharging this responsibility. Ladies and Gentlemen, The threats to our security, as we have been reminded in recent months, are multiple and inter$connected. %e cannot hope to meet them unless we work together even more closely than we have in the past. The unity of purpose demonstrated by our security agencies today is a promising step. Ladies and Gentlemen, &arly in its tenure, my Government dedicated itself to keeping "enya safe and

secure.
"enyans are, in this conte't, entitled to ask for a progress report, a report on what we have done to fulfil the obligation we set for ourselves. Ladies and Gentlemen, %e pledged to moderni(e and automate our security agencies operating systems. )ou will recall that a few months ago we launched the vehicles leasing

programme for the *ational +olice ervice. Last year I announced plans to lease ,,-.. vehicles to bolster policing. I e'pect this to significantly improve police response$time. %e promised an unprecedented mobilisation of modern technology in the fight against crime. /nder this programme, *airobi and several other urban areas will see CCT0 cameras installed. +lans to establish a Central Command$and$Control Centre, which we have sought for so long, are now advanced1 our agencies, and the public, will seamlessly share more information when it becomes operational. I know, as you do that the welfare and motivation of our men and women in uniform is vital. If you are to guard us to the best of your ability, we must do our part to reciprocate. 2y Government is, in this regard, building a pilot scheme for police housing at #uai +olice tation in *airobi. That initiative will not be confined to *airobi: it will be rolled out in all 34 counties in the months to come. 5nd our insurance scheme for security officers will be established this year. This is a matter of priority to my Government. only the beginning: my Government will commitment to your good. Ladies and Gentlemen, &arly in our tenure, we firmly committed to the complete reform of the police services. 6ur support for the process is clear: the +olice muster. The police service is a high calling, and "enyans rightly e'pect much of those who choose to serve them in the service. ervice Commission and the o let me emphasise that this is continue to demonstrate its

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The security 9 related reforms we are implementing are intended to reassure all of us that we have men and women in police uniform that match our e'pectation. Ladies and Gentlemen, There is a proverb that says and I :uote: ;well begun is half done<. %e have begun well. !ut that is also to say that much remains to be done: we still have challenges that re:uire action from us in order to ensure we have a secure environment that is necessary to achieve our development goals articulated in 0ision -.=.. %hat this means is that, we must stay the course we have already set. Ladies and Gentlemen, The police$citi(en ratio in our country remains low by international standards. It will rise as we continue with our reforms in the security sector. The institutional and legal framework for our anti$terrorism work needs fine$tuning. It will be done. 5nd since my Government shares responsibility for our nation>s security with ordinary "enyans, we will e'pand our community policing under the *yumba "umi programme. Ladies and Gentlemen, #ecent tragic events remind us of the unusually severe problem terrorism poses to the safety and the unity of our beloved nation. through that dark moment. 5mid the horror, I stood before the *ation and pledged that my Government, and the *ation it leads, will always stand firm against terrorism. %e refused, utterly refused, to be cowed. %e did not, as the terrorists had &very challenge they God>s grace brought us

hoped, turn against one another. %e defeated them.

presented only strengthened our resolve. This *ation stayed its course. Ladies and Gentlemen,

The resilience our nation showed must now be rewarded with palpable improvements in our security. +rogress in meeting your commitments under this ;#apid #esults Initiative< will rightly be a matter of keen interest for "enyans. I share their interest. I shall periodically monitor the incidents of crimes. particularly crimes against the person. I also trust that there will be an immediate and noticeable improvement in the ease with which ordinary "enyans can access security documents, including: birth certificates, national identity cards, passports and work permits. Let me add that during the period of this Initiative, I fully e'pect to see a substantial advance in achieving a single, uni:ue national registration system. 6ther countries have been able to fully digitise the management of their vital records. There is no reason why we cannot follow their e'ample. I have asked much of you men and women responsible for our security. "enyans ask much of you. This is in line with the spirit of our national anthem, that asks us to ;let service be our earnest endeavour<, a call that applies particularly more to our men and women in uniform. In return you can be sure that your struggle to attain the goals we have set out today will be greeted with special appreciation by all of us. )ou can also be certain of my support as you embark on this important national e'ercise. Ladies and Gentlemen, I know the 2inistry of Interior and Co$ordination of *ational Government, and all ,@ agencies participating in this initiative have worked tirelessly in the launch of this endeavour. I thank you most sincerely for the time you have invested in formulating this initiative. ?uring the life of the

initiative, I e'pect to see a significant and verifiable reduction in crimes: and

2y Government is especially grateful to the county governments. &ven though they have serious challenges of their own, being new and in the formative stage, they have been a great help to the national security effort. This is in keeping with the saying, ;umoAa ni nguvu, utengano ni udhaifu<. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a strong believer in the spirit of working together. 5ll of us, the *ational Government, the County Governments and "enyans in general, must work together to secure our environment for sustained development and shared prosperity. Bor, together we will make it. Ladies and Gentlemen, %ith these remarks, it is now my humble duty to declare the #apid #esults Initiative, officially launched. God bless you. God bless "enya. ecurity ector