Is The Kenyan Economy Going Anywhere?

"At Independence, Kenya’s economy was at par with that of South Korea. All the major economic indicators in the two nations – GDP, per capita income, literacy, industrialisation – were comparable.
Forty-three years down the road, the South Korean economy is 40 times the size of Kenya’s.
Forty times! Not double, or triple, or even ten times, but 40 times larger".

-Raila Odinga during the launch of his vision.

The question is, are we going anywhere? Can we match Asia's growth?

Kenyatta's government begun very well, but fluttered along the way. The Moi regime started well, then completely lost it on the way. The current government started very well, ..... . will it sustain the growth? Sorry, that was a wrong question, will the growth go any higher than the envisaged 6%? Can we match South Korea's, Malaysia's and Singapore's growth? What are we not doing right, yet? Can we, anytime soon boast of major brands like South Korea's LG, Samsung and Hyundai?

Currently we are consumers of imported finished products and exportes of raw or semi processed products. Sample the products in the supermarkets today: fruit juice from Egyptand Israel(both countries are predominantly desert) as if we do not grow fruits, instant coffee packed in Kenya but processed elsewhere, toothpaste from a company registered in Kenya-imported from Egypt, food seasoning from South Africa. What do we wear? Mtumba-imported. Starbucks is having a row with Ethiopia at the moment regarding the branding of coffee. We(Africans) produce it and let others profit from it. Can't we brand our products? No wonder the kikoi is being patented by someone else.

I think we have lost it. We depend on foreigners to grow our economy in the name of Foreign Direct Investment. You only have to look at the major players in our economy to realise that we do not control our economy, foreign multinationals do.

I am no economist but I think the above are some of the reasons our economy is a dwarf when compared to the Asian Tigers'.

Solutions?

1. Stop depending on FDIs and start promoting local enterprise, the profits will be ploughed back into the economy
2. Process our coffee, tea, Aloe, cashew nuts, coconuts, bixa, pyrethrum.
3. Go the LG way, Brand our produce!
4. Take advantage of our strengths-our tea is the best, brand it!The coconut has very many uses-exploit them commercially!Pastoralists have a lot of cattle, develop the beef industry!
5. Turn our challenges into opportunities. Is most of the country dry? Grow cash crops suited for those areas e.g. aloe. It has a BIG international market. Too windy in dry areas and Eldoret? Use the wind to pump water and generate electricity.
6. Buy Kenyan, Jenga Kenya.
7. ......
8. .......

Ongeza zako. This is your contribution to the growth of Kenya, if you love it as much as I do. It is not just the government, but all of us who are responsible! Kenya belongs to us all.

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

-John F. Kennedy