Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said on Friday he was convinced that the country is ready for industrial take-off by leveraging on its resources like minerals and hard-working people.

Speaking in Nairobi when he addressed members of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), a think tank of private and public sector leaders that advises the president on economic matters, Kibaki urged Kenyans to take full advantage of the gains made in the past 10 years to steer forward the East African nation.

Kibaki said the opening up of the education sector has ensured the production of the human resource base needed for future development, noting however that the skills and human resource base should be matched to emerging opportunities such as mining and oil exploration.

"There is need to review our education curriculum and enhance middle level professional training. The challenge then will be to consolidate on the gains we have made and implementation of the other ideas that the council will present," Kibaki said.

He said as the country plans to industrialize, focus should be put on agriculture to provide adequate food to Kenyans. He added that food security must always remain on top of the country's agenda.

"As the executive, we will also be pushing Parliament to pass the Special Economic Zones Bill and the Public Private Partnership Bill to ensure that Kenya takes advantage of emerging opportunities," he said and urged NESC members to focus on security which is the cornerstone of development.

He said that was why the government was taking steps to deal with terrorism and expressed satisfaction that Kenya's mission in Somalia was going on well. "We will work with our regional and international partners to ensure that peace and stability reigns," President Kibaki said.

He said NESC members' contribution has enabled the country achieve significant transformation in the political, economic and social fields.

He observed that the NESC has so far demonstrated how public- private sector cooperation can be leveraged for better policy formulation and implementation.

"Indeed, when this council was established 8 years ago our economy was still recovering. We should be proud of the many strides that we have made," he said.

Kibaki noted that since the country embarked on the transformative journey, Vision 2030 is being implemented with flagship projects such as Lamu Port, South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET), Konza City, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's Greenfield Terminal, Thika Superhighway and new energy sources having taken off.

He pointed out that Kenya is today home to half of the world's mobile money transfer users while the country's youth are some of the world's best ICT innovators.

He also commended NESC for formulating the national values and principles of governance policy which is expected to guide national cohesion and even develop to a Kenyan brand and identity.

He added that the national values will also ensure that Kenya becomes a unified state even in the presence of devolution under the county governments.

"Indeed, we must prepare our people to positively embrace devolution. Devolution should trigger inclusive and responsible growth. We want to devolve not just resources, but responsibility to the grassroots," the President said.

President Kibaki also noted that the NESC has also formulated the mining and minerals policy that will guide the exploration and exploitation of natural resources.

He added that the policy will ensure that the gains from such resources are used for the benefit of the local communities and national interests, and for the gain of present and future generations.

Kibaki said the response strategy presents an opportunity for leveraging on carbon trading and green growth, and challenged NESC and the relevant ministries, departments and agencies to provide guidance and ensure that Kenya is not left behind in the many climate change mitigation initiatives.

Public Works Minister Chris Obure said a policy on ICT as a key driver to the economy, was being formulated to create the necessary institutions to manage the sector.

Obure said the government was working out modalities on the 24- hour economy integrating the public and private sectors to help curb high unemployment rates in the country.

Meanwhile, Kibaki assured Kenyans and the international community of a smooth transition to the new leadership that will be elected next year.

"The Constitution affords a solid basis for achieving substantial transformation. Indeed, next year we are set to hold our first elections under the constitution that I promulgated in 2010," he said.

Kibaki said despite what may look as current challenges, the country will have a peaceful and just election.

He urged members of the NESC to lay the foundation of new ideas that the next government can quickly implement once they are in office, so they don't spend too much time discussing.

He challenged leaders to reduce time spent on meetings and instead direct energies towards implementation of the relevant reports.

He expressed the need to provide resources to the youth and disadvantaged groups in order to make them partners in the journey of economic development.