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REPUBLIC OF KENYA

THE PRESIDENCY

MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING

SPEECH BY MS. ANNE WAIGURU, OGW, CABINET SECRETARY,

MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING, DURING THE

NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS FORUM ON THE POST 59th SESSION

OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW), THE AU

YEAR OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS

AFRICAS AGENDA 2063, HELD ON 21ST JULY, 2015 AT HILTON

HOTEL, NAIROBI

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, PLANNING - MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION

AND PLANNING, ENG. PETER O. MANGITI

COUNTRY PROGRAMME DIRECTOR, UN WOMEN, ZEBIB KAVUMA

KEWOPA CHAIRPERSON, HON. CECILY MBARIRE

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

COUNTY OFFICIALS PRESENT

CIVIL SOCIETY ORAGNIZATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN;

A VERY GOODMORNING TO YOU ALL;

We gather here today, to reflect, share and plan for key gender related

initiatives, which are of great importance to our country. On the onset, I

thank you for your positive response to our invitation which is clearly

demonstrated by your presence here at this National forum, which brings

together actors from various sectors dealing with various aspects of Gender

Equality and Womens Empowerment in Kenya.

I have no doubt that what brings us together, on our own volition, is the

collective responsibility and our genuine conviction that as partners with an

extensive history, we remain bound by one common purpose of working

towards the realization of a just and equitable society for the women, men,

girls and boys of our nation.

This forum has also been convened in fulfillment of our commitment during

the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women which took

place in New York from 9th 20th March 2015.

For those who participated and those who followed the proceedings, you

will definitely agree with me that it was the most productive and

outstanding session Kenya has ever engaged in.

The onus of the outcomes of our participation can be attributed to the

dynamic Government delegation which included the First Lady of the

Republic of Kenya H.E Excellency, Mrs Margaret Kenyatta, Spouse of the

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Deputy President, H.E. Mrs. Rael Ruto, Parliamentarians, CEOs of various

agencies, representatives of Semi-autonomous Government Agencies and

Constitutional Commissions, Civil society, Private Sector, Government

ministries and academia among others.

I wish to express my appreciation for the partnership and active

participation demonstrated by the Kenya delegation at the 59th session.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Beyond this, it is worth noting that Kenya also had the unique opportunity

of hosting four side events on the sidelines of the CSW sessions. As a

country, we took pride in showcasing evidence based approaches and

innovations in achieving and advancing Gender Equality and Empowerment

of women as demonstrated through The Beyond Zero Campaign on

Maternal and Newborn Health, hosted by the First Lady of the Republic

of Kenya; Women Economic Empowerment And Financial Inclusion

Featuring Elevating Livelihood Through Table Banking and

Information hosted by Spouse of the Deputy President; the Kenya

Transformative Programme; featuring access to business opportunities

for women, youth and persons with disabilities hosted by the Ministry of

Devolution and Planning and Demonstrating Legislative Leadership,

hosted by Kenya Women Parliamentary Association.

Several conclusions were made at the 59 CSW touching on areas of

Women Empowerment and Entrepreneurship, Women and Leadership,

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Gender Based Violence, Gender Statistics, Women and Environment,

Women and Agriculture, Women in Sports, Empowerment of Youth and

Women and the Media. Various lessons were also learnt from the sessions

which are applicable to Kenya.

These include; tax rebates for women owned businesses; maintenance of

up-to date statistics on gender; use of existing gender machineries and

networks to push for more women in leadership positions; enactment of

gender sensitive environmental policies; adoption of gender responsive

budgeting processes; and engagement of media in advocacy and gender

equality campaigns.

More importantly, and of concern as noted in the Global Review of the

Beijing Platform is that, 20 years after Beijing, no country in the world has

yet fully achieved gender equality. However, the 12 critical areas of

concern of the Beijing Platform for Action remain relevant, 20 years after

and their importance in informing the Post-2015 Development Agenda

recognized.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

The Post-59 CSW session today has been organized at an opportune time

coinciding with the Declaration by the African Union of 2015 as the Year of

Womens Empowerment and Development Towards Africas Agenda 2063

on The Africa We Want. More significantly, it is notable that achieving

Gender Equality is one of the 7 aspirations of the Agenda 2063 which lays

emphasis transformative change which must benefit women, men,

girls and boys.

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In carrying forward the aspirations of the AU womens year forward, we

have committed as a country, to create awareness by disseminating

information and undertaking County Consultations on priority areas for

accelerating gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is also

within this framework that Kenya participated at the 25th Ordinary Summit

of AU Heads of State and Government in Johannesburg, South Africa

where Kenya was highly commended for the life changing transformative

socio-economic programmes.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

This year, there is much to be accomplished as a result of the 59 CSW and

within the context of the AU Year of Womens Empowerment. At the 59

CSW, we took the liberty of hosting a meeting of Heads of Delegation of

the Countries that have previously hosted World Conferences on Women

namely Mexico in 1975, Denmark in 1980, Kenya in 1985 and China in

1995.

This was a consultative meeting aimed at exploring how the four countries

can use their geographical advantage and diversity to rally member states

in their regions to advance the Gender Equality and Womens Agenda

based on the countries presence in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

As a result, Kenya will be hosting Ministerial and Experts Meetings in

August this year to pursue this Agenda. We shall also be hosting the

Nairobi + 30 Conference in the same month by bringing Africa to Kenya to

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commemorate 30 years since the 3rd World Conference which was held in

here in the City of Nairobi in 1985.

We shall indeed be celebrating the successes on our continent and

revitalizing efforts across member states to accelerate our ultimate goal of

achieving Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment.

Ladies and Gentlemen;

In addition to this, there were many other useful outcomes of the 59 CSW

which include the commitment by the Common Wealth Business Network

to set up a Commonwealth business womens academy in Nairobi. The

Academy will provide training that will equip women with skills they require

at all stages in their business ventures.

As you will be informed today, many innovative ideas were discussed at

the 59th Session of the CSW and in the Ordinary Summit of Heads of State

and Governments. It is up to all of us here today to ensure that these ideas

do not remain documents on our shelves but are transformed into

frameworks, policies and programmes that have positive impact on the

lives of women, men, girls and boys in Kenya.

On my part, I want to assure you that the Ministry of Devolution and

Planning under my leadership, remains committed to delivering on the

Governments Agenda on Gender Equality. I wish to in particular assure

you of our unequivocal support towards the realization of the Two-Thirds

Gender Principle. Let us take advantage of the opportunity offered by the

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AU Year of Womens Empowerment to strengthen our resolve in translating

this into reality.

With your invaluable partnership, my Ministry will ensure that the

Outcomes of the 59 CSW are disseminated and consultations on the AU

year of womens empowerment rolled out in the counties.

In Conclusion Therefore, Ladies and Gentlemen;

I thank you all for your kind attention and declare this meeting officially

opened