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A London-based publication has hailed the impact made by devolution in Kenya, but indicates that the system can bring more benefits if the 47 counties join regional economic blocs to attract investment.
In a four-page report, the influential Financial Times newspaper says that devolution has enabled small scale farmers get better prices for their products.
The Financial Times cites Makueni County as an example, where area Governor Kivutha Kibwana helped about 12,000 local mango farmers get five times the price they were getting for the fruit previously through the establishment of a mango processing plant.
The report however warns that a majority of the 47 counties are “too small to attract investors." For instance Nigeria has a population four times that of Kenya, but has only 37 states.
"To counter this, some governors have formed regional blocs to attract investors and development agencies," the report says citing the Frontier Counties Development Council, a bloc of seven counties in northern Kenya, as an example.
The bloc was able to get $1.1 billion in investment from the United Nations and the World Bank for various projects including roads, water and agriculture.
Dubbed “Investing in Kenya”, the report says business confidence in the country “has improved dramatically” since the famous March 9th handshake between President Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“The economy, which grew at 4.9 per cent in 2017, is expected to expand to 5.8 per cent this year,” the report says.
It also says Kenya's tourism sector is doing well, raking $1.2 billion last year and creating at least 1.1 million employment opportunities.
It also makes special mention of increased investment in renewable energy such as geothermal, solar, wind and hydro electricity — with half of Kenyan population connected to electricity, which is high by African standards.
The FT report further notes that although Kenya’s national debt “looks manageable in GDP terms, debt service ratios are worryingly high, particularly since the government continues to run a budget deficit of seven per cent.”
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Kenya is shithole nation ....all sectors are controlled by cartels....and kenyans /farmers are today poorer courtesy tano tena that benefits rich and well connected......whle millions starve and are hopeless ......nedd kenya spring soon to kick out all dynasties..corrupt masters.
This mzungus are either paid to tell lies or too foolish to know to interpret what is going on in kenya today.
47 county gavament with ceo as cabinet...500mps/senators and 2000 daft mcas members of county assemblies ,dozens commisions and boards ...and main gavament led by prezo /dp and secretaries.......all paid by scarce and overtaxed kenyans.......while little go to provision or improvement of services.....can financial time tell us why maize farmers and sugarcane farmers are poorer today and stores full and cane rotting in farms tespectively since some crooks in gavament brought these commodities from outside kenya and bought by gavamrnt corparations...
Uongo hatutaki please....financial time...canso called finacial time tell us how many jobs were created from 2010 when this katiba mbichi came into force.....fact is peple are tired of lies peddled by finacial time on behalf of mashamba and public pesa thieves
I think as common Kenyan become poorer the elected and connected guys that always in golf clubs ate brcoming richer.....time tushiksne tutoe hawa wakora pamoja ya wale wanalinda wao wakiimba na kuharibu inchi...
This is really weird. While Kenyans are crying and moaning the economic catastrophe created by the counties, the colonial master is praising them. What we don't see is that the economic blocks are nothing but colonial provinces renamed. Are we going to take Kenya as one complete economic block and join with other East African countries to make one huge economic block or are we going to be derailed by diving our country again into smaller economic blocks? The benefit for new small economic blocks is not for the benefit of Kenyans (locals), it is for the benefit of the buyer. Divide and Rule policy in play here. Just a thought