There is something profoundly humbling about sitting around a table to discuss the Kenya we want to leave for generations we may never meet. As a member of the Steering Committee guiding the development of Vision 2060, I have found the experience both exciting and grounding.
It is exciting because of the opportunity to contribute to a conversation about Kenya’s long-term future; grounding because a vision that stretches to 2060 will ultimately be judged not by the quality of its words, but by what the everyday Kenyan will experience in their daily lives.
This is exactly where the project management profession enters the conversation. Kenya has never lacked ambition. We have produced development plans, flagship projects and transformative programmes across infrastructure, health, education, housing, energy, agriculture and technology. The recurring challenge has always been converting ambition into tangible results and lasting impact.
As we look beyond Vision 2030, we must ask ourselves if we are sufficiently equipped to deliver the Kenya we envision.
A national vision is the beginning of a very large project. It has objectives to define, stakeholders to align, dependencies to manage, resources to mobilise, milestones to track, risks to mitigate and benefits to realise. The difference is that its scale is national, its complexity is immense, and its timeline spans generations.
Project management can no longer remain a back-office technical function. It must be recognised and treated as a strategic national capability.
The first lesson for Vision 2060 should be to strengthen the link between national priorities and implementation. Priorities such as infrastructure expansion, universal healthcare, quality education, affordable housing, food security, clean energy, climate resilience and digital transformation must be translated into coherent portfolios of programmes and projects, each with clear outcomes, ownership, resources, timelines, risks and accountability.
We also need greater discipline in deciding which projects Kenya should undertake. A project may be attractive, technically feasible and even financeable, yet still fail to represent the best use of scarce resources.
Project selection should be guided by strategic alignment, value for money, affordability, sustainability, implementation capacity and the value realisation it will deliver to citizens.
Equally important is how we define success. Completing a project on time and within budget matters, but it is not enough.
Success must also be measured by public value: better services, lower costs, greater efficiency, improved livelihoods, resilience, inclusion, sustainability and citizen satisfaction. A project that fails to deliver its intended economic or social benefits cannot be considered truly successful.
Vision 2060 should therefore entrench accountability for outcomes. We should ask not only whether we built the road, hospital, school, water system or digital platform, but whether it improved connectivity, healthcare, learning, productivity, livelihoods and access to essential services.
Sustained commitment is another critical issue. A 34-year vision will inevitably span several political administrations, and nationally significant projects cannot be repeatedly disrupted by political transitions. Kenya needs governance systems that preserve institutional memory and ensure decisions to continue, modify, or terminate projects that are based on evidence, performance, and national interest.
This is why Kenya must deliberately invest in project management talent. Tomorrow’s projects will be far more complex, spanning artificial intelligence, advanced infrastructure, climate adaptation, digital transformation, smart cities and public-private partnerships. We will require professionals who can manage not only schedules and budgets, but also uncertainty, stakeholders, technology, contracts, change and risk.
PMI Kenya’s invitation to serve on the Vision 2060 Steering Committee has reinforced my belief that Kenya has extraordinary expertise and ideas. What we must strengthen is the bridge between ideas and execution. Serving on the committee is more than an honour; it is a responsibility. It reminds me that project professionals have a role beyond individual organizations and projects: contributing to the systems through which our country plans, invests, and delivers.
And perhaps one of the most important conversations as we move toward Vision 2060 is the willingness to learn from Vision 2030. We should honestly examine what worked, what did not, and why – not to assign blame, but to strengthen institutional learning. Every successful project should teach us what to repeat, while every delayed, over-budget, or unsuccessful project should teach us what to improve.
If we get this right, Vision 2060 can be more than a statement of national aspiration. It can become a disciplined framework for delivery.
The Kenya of 2060 will not be created by a document alone. It will be created through thousands of programmes and projects, planned carefully, financed responsibly, implemented professionally, monitored transparently, and measured by the real change