A REVIEW OF THE CHALLENGES TO POLITICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA

Development policy in Kenya after independence sought to improve the socio-economic conditions of citizens. The leadership of the nationalist movement aimed to redress the racial, ethnic and gender inequalities that characterized society during the colonial period. The government has since independe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current politics and economics of Africa 2019-04, Vol.12 (2/3), p.179-207
Main Authors: Sifuna, Daniel N, Oanda, Ibrahim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Challenges
Colonialism
Development plans
Economic conditions
Economic development
Economic growth
Economic inequality
Economic planning
Gender inequality
Gender relations
Information systems
Leadership
Marginality
National development
Nationalism
Natural resources
Planning
Political systems
Politics
Population
Sea level
Socioeconomic development
Socioeconomic factors
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Summary:Development policy in Kenya after independence sought to improve the socio-economic conditions of citizens. The leadership of the nationalist movement aimed to redress the racial, ethnic and gender inequalities that characterized society during the colonial period. The government has since independence in 1963, engaged different approaches to achieve these objectives through periodic national development plans. The emphasis and focus of the development policy have shifted over time due to persistent internal challenges and the exigencies of the external environment. The shifts in policy planning, however, have not redressed socio-economic challenges. Instead, each subsequent policy has produced contradictions, causing a small percentage of growth sectors and wealthy individuals, while informalizing production processes in many sectors of the economy and widening socio-economic marginalization of most of the population. In terms of political approaches to economic planning, Kenya has moved from the centralized statist approach in 1963 to an experimentation with a 'district focus' strategy in the 1980s; an era of devolved funding from the 1990s and, since 2010, a devolved governance structure. Shifts in approaches to socio-economic development and political organization have only exacerbated the problem of socio-economic inequalities. This chapter seeks to examine the dynamics behind these persistent challenges. The chapter is based on a re-interpretation of already published works and existing data. Data from social sectors that most manifest socio-economic inequalities will be highlighted to illustrate the trends.
ISSN:1098-4070