NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 12 – President William Ruto has said the proposed Vision 2060 will be shaped and decided by Kenyans, insisting that the country’s long-term development blueprint must be a people-driven process rather than a government initiative.Ruto said Kenya had an opportunity to develop a new national vision that reflects the aspirations of citizens and responds to changes that have taken place since Vision 2030 was formulated.He said the process would bring together Kenyans from different sectors and backgrounds, including farmers, students, entrepreneurs, academics, technocrats, religious groups, civil society and the private sector.“This is not a government project. This is a people’s project,” Ruto said, adding that the Government would only provide the platform and facilitate the consultations.The President said no single person or institution had a monopoly on ideas about Kenya’s future and urged citizens to take an active role in determining the country’s direction beyond 2030.“We want to pick the minds of everybody, the farmers, entrepreneurs, students, technocrats, everybody. Let them tell us what kind of future that we all want to think about,” he said.Ruto said the proposed long-term vision should be anchored in the 2010 Constitution, which provides for public participation in national affairs.He contrasted the proposed approach with the process that produced Vision 2030, arguing that the earlier blueprint was developed before the current constitutional order and without the level of public participation now required by law.According to the President, involving citizens directly would give the next national development plan greater ownership and ensure it reflects the priorities of ordinary Kenyans.“Government is not going to lead the talks. It is going to facilitate. This is about the people,” he said.Ruto said the consultations should also address the challenges Kenya faces, including inequality, unemployment, access to healthcare and education, food security, housing and economic opportunities.He said the country must also prepare for major global changes, including the impact of artificial intelligence and climate change, while positioning itself to benefit from Africa’s growing economic importance.The President urged Kenyans to approach the process with a long-term outlook, warning against allowing electoral politics to dictate national development priorities.“I’m telling them the next election will come and go. Kenya must think beyond the next election,” Ruto said.He said Kenya’s future should not be determined by individual administrations or election cycles, but through a national consensus that can guide successive governments.Ruto said he would participate in the process as a Kenyan and contribute his own ideas about the country’s future, but stressed that the final vision should emerge from the collective aspirations of citizens.He said the ultimate goal was to develop a national plan that would benefit future generations and provide a clear pathway towards realising the rights and aspirations guaranteed under the Constitution.“Beyond Vision 2030 is our collective responsibility,” Ruto said, urging Kenyans not to abdicate their responsibility to shape the future of the country.The proposed Vision 2060 would therefore seek to move Kenya’s development conversation beyond the immediate concerns of the 2027 election and create a longer-term framework that successive administrations would be expected to pursue.Ruto said the opportunity belonged to all Kenyans and called on citizens to participate in determining what they want the country to look like decades from now.