Fellow Kenyans,

I first of all wish to thank all of you gathered here for setting aside time to join us for this fundraising event in support of our people adversely affected by the post-election violence. I wish to thank you in particular, because this function was announced at a short notice. Your presence here therefore is a clear manifestation of your concern and compassion towards the victims of senseless violence in the spirit of a caring nation.

The displacement of thousands of our people, mainly smallholder farmers from their land parcels early this year has caused a serious challenge as thousands of acres of highly productive farmland could not be cultivated in a timely manner. The situation is expected to impact negatively on our national food production at a time when the world is experiencing serious difficulties as the prices of basic foods have increased sharply. This is mainly due to the high cost of agricultural inputs caused by escalating fuel prices and the high demand for cereals for the production of biofuels.

The urgent challenge for the government is to restore food production activities by ensuring that those who were displaced from their homes and farms can begin to rebuild their lives, and become productive members of their communities and the nation once again. It is worth noting that many of the displaced persons are small-holder farmers who acquired their land parcels through considerable sacrifice. The government has the obligation to ensure that the violence does not become a means of dispossessing these people of their lifetime possessions.

The resettlement programme started with those who are currently living under difficult conditions in various camps in the affected areas. The next phase will involve those who took shelter among relatives and friends after their houses were destroyed. I want to emphasize that the ongoing resettlement programme which commenced early last week is purely voluntary, and the government will not coerce people to return to their homes.

Nevertheless, I am glad to note that the response has been overwhelming, and last week alone over 85,000 displaced persons participated in the programme and returned to their farms. Many of these are people whose entire livelihoods were destroyed and will therefore continue to depend on government support for sometime.

As you are all aware, the magnitude of the destruction caused by the violence was enormous. We will therefore require about 30 billion shillings to meet the full costs of resettlement, including reconstruction of basic housing, replacement of household effects as well as rehabilitation of community utilities and institutions destroyed during the violence. It is for this reason that early this year we launched an endowment fund to which the government injected an initial sum of one billion shillings. This Fund, known as the Humanitarian Fund for Mitigation of Effects and Resettlement of Victims of Post-2007 Election Violence, will receive and manage all financial resources appropriated by Parliament as well as grants and donations from friends and well-wishers. I note, with much appreciation, that the Fund has already been instrumental in meeting the basic needs of displaced persons in the camps. It has also been instrumental in facilitating the movement of the internally displaced persons from the camps to their farms. We need additional resources urgently, if we are to sustain the momentum of support to those who are returning to their homes. In order to raise the resources needed, it has become necessary for the Government to conduct a public fundraising to augment the resources being allocated by the government through the exchequer and donations from well-wishers.

As we launch this fund raising today, therefore, I appeal to all of you Kenyans of good will, our development partners, well-wishers and the private sector to contribute generously. I also take this opportunity, on behalf of the Government and the people of Kenya , to express our sincere gratitude to our friends who have already contributed funds towards addressing the humanitarian challenges facing our country. In this respect, I want to thank most sincerely the government of Algeria for contributing 500,000 U.S. dollars to the fund. The money will go a long way towards assisting victims of the post-election violence who are being resettled on their farms.

I also note that a number of friendly countries and development partners made public pledges to donate funds in support of victims of the post-election violence. I encourage them to do so now to enable those returning to their homes get the necessary financial and material assistance to begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

I am aware of the fears and reservations expressed by some of the displaced people with respect to the ongoing resettlement programme. I want to assure them that the government has put in place adequate security arrangements for their safety. Moreover, the current resettlement initiatives are the outcome of intense reconciliation efforts by grassroots peace committees and the local leaders. These initiatives culminated in my tour of the affected areas last month together with the Rt. Honourable Raila Odinga and other leaders from the affected areas to urge communities to co-exist in peace as they have done so for many years in the past. During this tour, it was clear that both the displaced people and the host communities were eager to return to normal lives. I therefore once again appeal to our people who have lived peacefully together as neighbours for many years to embrace a new spirit of reconciliation.

The electioneering period is now over. Those who competed during the election campaigns are now working together under the grand coalition government. It is my prayer that this spirit of reconciliation and tolerance will permeate throughout our communities and be manifested at all levels of our society. I also call upon communities in the areas affected by violence to demonstrate goodwill by welcoming the displaced persons who are now returning to their farms. In particular, I call upon leaders countrywide to play an active role in promoting peace within the district peace and reconciliation committees. In addition, I would like to appeal to all leaders and Kenyans in general to be patient and to maintain peace, law and order as we work out long-term solutions to the underlying challenges to the problems facing us.

In conclusion, I wish to note that the government is fully aware that the cycle of violence needs a more permanent solution. This is a serious challenge for the grand coalition government, and I have no doubt that we will address these issues conclusively.

As a nation, we have faced difficult situations in the past. We have however sought to learn from the situations that have challenged our nationhood. Let the current challenges serve as events from which to draw serious lessons. If we do so, these challenges can serve as a crucial turning point for our nation.

Indeed, I believe that Kenyans will come out of the current challenges a better nation and a better people. It is for this reason that I encourage all Kenyans to help those who are now in great need by supporting this fundraising. I also appeal to our international friends to support these efforts.

With these remarks, I now declare the national initiative to raise funds for the resettlement of internally displaced Kenyans officially launched.

Thank You and God bless you all.