CLOSING REMARKS BY HON. WYCLIFFE AMBETSA OPRANYA, EGH, MP, MINISTER OF STATE FOR PLANNING, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND VISION 2030 DURING THE 2010 NATIONAL LEADERS’ CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT ON 17TH NOVEMBER, 2010 AT KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE

Ladies and Gentlemen: Today marks the end of three days of engagement of Leaders from across the country through debate on population and development issues. I am happy to note that the engagement has been fruitful and you Leaders have been armed with necessary information on proper management of population. From today we must start walking the talk of proper population management for development at every opportunity that arises.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Ministry of Planning and the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development have, through the conference advocated for political and other support to address population issues and assisted stakeholders and partners to understand the importance of integrating population into development planning as outlined in NCAPD’s mandate.

The conference outcomes will greatly inform the development of the new population policy. The new policy will have to take into consideration the devolved government structure for it to meaningfully guide the implementation of population programmes in the next decade. The agency will have to be proactive in dealing with emerging population issues from across the country for it to remain relevant and visible in the new governance order. There is also need for rebranding and expansion of the Agency to all counties across the country.
Ladies and Gentlemen: As the minister responsible for planning, coordination and evaluation of development programme in Kenya, I want to underscore the importance of integrating population into the development planning process. As a ministry we shall ensure that population variables are routinely integrated into development planning at all levels in the country through capacity building of individuals and institutions. The Government will enhance support for the formulation of population policies and for efficient and effective policy implementation.

We at the Ministry wish to call upon all of you who have been keenly following and contributing to the debate on population and development in this room, to reach out to other Kenyans and underscore to them the need for proper population management for sustainable development. It must be understood across the country to everybody that the current level of population growth certainly threatens our meaningful existence in this country with rights to a decent life, a proper shelter and a decent meal. Already many Kenyans cannot access the very basics of life and it is certainly getting worse by the day. Our only hope now is to check population growth and most importantly at an individual level. Days are gone when a big family one had signified how secure one was. The converse is holds these days, because of the demands that come with such a big family not only at the individual level but nationally.
With those remarks, let me on behalf of the Ministry of planning thank you all for attending and participating in the conference.
Thank You.