Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has underscored the need for collaboration between public and private sectors to drive innovation and address the country’s pressing needs.
Speaking during the launch of the Absa Bank Kenya Foundation at Karura, Mudavadi noted that the government lacks the capacity to meet all competing needs on its own.
“This underscores the urgent need for leveraging collaboration and partnerships between the Government, private sector and other stakeholders to scale up support for enterprise development.
“The convergence of the public and private sectors, therefore, represents a potent alliance capable of propelling innovation and instigating change,” he said.
He added that a collaborative approach will enable the country to harness the respective strengths of each other, with the public sector focused on championing equity and justice, and the private sector on agility and capacity for innovation.
He noted that the Kenya Kwanza government maintains an open policy and welcomes ideas that can jointly scale up interventions to address the challenges facing communities and promote shared prosperity for all.
Mudavadi said such collaboration will provide the perfect opportunity to exchange ideas on how to harness the synergy of diverse perspectives, resources and expertise that will contribute to meaningful progress.
“It is inspiring to see so many responsible corporate organizations and development institutions gathered here today, further cementing the recognition of the immense power of partnerships in reshaping our society and making it a better place for the present and future generations,” he stated.
Mudavadi welcomed the launch of the Absa Bank Kenya Foundation, noting its timeliness given the strain on government resources caused by limited tax revenues and external funding.
He stressed the need for collaboration to address key challenges, including poverty alleviation and growth initiatives in education, health, infrastructure, and climate change resilience.
He urged the foundation to explore new areas for collaboration with the government, particularly in enhancing climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.
This, he said, would include mobilizing capital, driving innovation, and establishing frameworks for sustainable development.
“I presume you will take this opportunity to identify critical areas of collaboration, including supporting the Government to scale up the ongoing tree-planting agenda. This will enable us to achieve the target of planting 15 billion trees even before 2032.”
He further commended Absa Bank Kenya for establishing Absa Kenya Foundation saying that they have now embarked on a significant journey to uplift the livelihoods of the community that supports their business.
“These corporate foundations, collaborating with donors and partners, have invested billions of shillings in strategic community empowerment programs that have changed the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans.
“The Government appreciates the focus of your foundation on priority areas of our economic development including Entrepreneurship, Education and Skills, Resource Management, Health and Humanitarian Relief. These economic and social development pillars will support the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and Kenya Vision 2030.”
