EIU Confirms Kumekucha Suspicion About Real Heroes Of The Kenyan Economy

It is interesting how my comments on the economy seem to get such wide readership and heavy traffic via search engines. (Even the presidents’ advisors are hurriedly trying to implement some ideas suggested in my blog in the recent past – it could be just a mere coincidence).

I say this because in my journalism days everybody knew that boring economics does not sell and hardly ever gets read. But I guess times are changing.

In a recent report by The Economic Intelligence Unit Limited (EIU), they estimate remittances from Kenyans abroad to be somewhere in the region of Shs 50 billion. Past Central Bank of Kenya projections show that tourism generates about 48 billion.

Interestingly we have to thank the man we all fought so hard to remove from power, former President Moi for this. He made life in Kenya hell but at the same time rapidly expanded university education. The result is that today, Kenya probably has one of the highest expatriate community of any African country (yes, competing neck to neck with Nigeria and even white South Africa)

But the main comment I wanted to make was on this issue of most Kenyans being worse off now than when Moi was leaving power.

My view is that the generation of leaders in government now does not have the imagination or the political will required to implement creative economic policies that will enable the majority of Kenyans to participate in the economy. For instance they promised 500,000 jobs a year without understanding or caring about the fundamentals required to achieve such a number. It would have to be heavily dependant on small and micro business and entrepreneurs. It also must include the de-centralizing of things from crowded Nairobi. We need to develop our other cities and towns. Parliament in Kisumu, government head offices in Nakuru and the man State House in Mombasa, DOD headquarters in Garissa. Instead this government spent a lot of time trying to revive old factories and luring foreign investors. These are good things and they worked very well in the 70s but their impact in 2006 will be minimal at best. The correct approach now is to get a rapidly growing domestic economy going, and the investors will soon start beating down the doors to be let in. That is exactly what happened in China.

That is why I have always said that Kenya needs a new younger generation of leaders to carry her to the next level.

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See also the 2 Problem Tribes in Kenyan politics

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