KIPPRA held its 5th KIPPRA Annual Regional Conference from 15th to 17th June 2022 at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi.
Themed “Foundations for a Sustainable Economic Transformation in Kenya” the conference which brought together state and non-state actors to discuss progress made, challenges faced and the way forward in forging a common front to accelerate the gains in economic transformation was graced by CS The National Treasury and Planning Hon Amb. Ukur Yatani represented by CAS The National Treasury and Planning Hon. Eric Wafukho, PS Planning, Mr Saitoti Torome, Amb. Dr Amina Mohammed represented by Mr. Henry Obino, KIPPRA Board Chair Dr Benson Ateng’ and Executive Director Dr Rose Ngugi. The conference provided delegates with an opportunity to deliberate on how Kenya can best build robust foundations to accelerate economic transformation.
The key areas of discussion at the conference were categorized into eight sub-themes, namely: creative economy, green economy, trade competitiveness and frontier products, gig economy and digital transformation, financial inclusion, values and economic transformation, human capital and making markets work. The conference also included a youth side event which discussed emerging issues to support economic transformation through youth entrepreneurship, skills development and employment.
Speaking at the conference CAS Hon. Eric Wafukho noted that the conference was well put together and the recommendations from the conference will go along way in influencing government’s development agenda, PS Planning Mr Saitoti Torome stated that the conference is timely as it comes at a time the government is developing its fourth medium term plan that is crucial in the development process of our country, KIPPRA Board Chair noted that the choice of the theme of the conference is intentional as the country is in transitional process at the moment and KIPPRA Executive Director Dr Rose Ngugi on her part welcomed delegates and guests to the conference and urged them to fully participate in the discussions at the conference.
The conference was well attended with diverse representation and witnessed an average of over 400 participants each day, including about 40 presenters and 40 panelists covering the eight themes of the conference. The youth side event attracted 199 students from different universities, there was also exhibitions by several organizations at the conference and KIPPRA choir was in hand to entertain the delegates.
The conference also saw celebration of KIPPRA’s 25th anniversary during a colourful dinner held at the Kenya School of Government on Thursday 16th June 2022. Themed “25 years of Thinking Policy Together”, the event provided an opportunity to reflect on the journey towards KIPPRA’s establishment and the progress made so far.
In early 1990s, the Government embarked on public sector reform and a key agenda was to strengthen the public policy making process. The need to build human and institutional capacity in government to support the policy formulation process was identified. The Presidential Commission on Employment in 1991 observed that in the new industrialised economies, mechanisms such as national research institutes, think tanks and advisory councils were established to promote public policy research and analysis and to generate evidence to help the Government anticipate emerging policy problems.
KIPPRA was established in 1997 through a Legal Notice No.56 and it officially opened its doors in June 1999. In January 2007, the President signed the KIPPRA Bill into law. The KIPPRA Act No.15 of 2006 became effective in February 2007. The Act itemizes twelve function that the Institute is expected to perform and they can be summarised into three broad functions:
1) Capacity building.
2) Public policy research and analysis
3) Networking and engagement.
The silver jubilee celebration event included speeches from the chief guest, the National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Hon. Ukur Yattani, who was represented by the Chief Administrative Secretary Mr Eric Wafukho. Other speakers included representatives from the EU and UNICEF, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director General Mr MacDonald G. Obudho; Economic Planning Secretary Ms Katherine Muoki who represented the Planning PS Mr Saitoti Torome; the KIPPRA Board Chair Dr Benson Ateng’ and the Executive Director Dr Rose Ngugi.
The event also saw the launch of the National Information Platform for Food Security and Nutrition (NIPFN) web portal. The web portal was launched by the CAS National Treasury and Planning Mr Eric Wafukho on 16th June 2022 during the KIPPRA@25 silver jubilee celebratory dinner. In his remarks, he acknowledged with thanks the financial support from the European Union together with Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the NIPFN project. “The country still welcomes such support to ensure that food and nutrition security issues are adequately addressed”.
Through the NIPFN portal, nutrition information will continuously be consolidated, summarized, and visualized at a central place. Thus, one can determine whether the nutrition information in Kenya is improving or not. The platform will enhance the dissemination and use of information, to better inform strategic decisions and thereby advance achievement of optimal nutrition. Furthermore, through the NIPFN portal, KIPPRA and KNBS are identifying areas to advise Government priorities to accelerate progress of preventing malnutrition and mitigate food security.
The web portal has summarized statistics on food and nutrition, visualized data information and central repository of data in a ready to use format, to guide on Government policies and strategies.
Guests also enjoyed an elaborate dinner, cake, drinks and entertainment from the KIPPRA choir and a jazz band.
The conference came to a close with the delivery of conference communique and closing remarks by KIPPRA Board chair.
