2020 should offer more jobs, robust growth in key sectors

Kenya recently reached a significant economic benchmark when it became the largest economy in East Africa, now exceeding Sh10 trillion.

Competing with other quickly developing African economies, including those of Ethiopia and Uganda, this is a remarkable economic milestone courtesy of forward-looking policies and more importantly, the hard work of the Kenyan people.

Robust government policy has led to a number of targets being met in the first quarter of the year, indicating 2020 will deliver good economic tidings. Given a closer look, challenges to growth may be more internal than external. However, one key issue that should define this year is priority-setting.

At this point in time and for better results, the government should focus on more strategic adjustments to fiscal policies towards self-reliance, where we can tap more into the youth potential and intentionally make the country more friendly to SMEs and local businesses. 

Better regulation, reforms and increased macroeconomic stability should open more frontiers and be taken advantage of more by the government by way of a holistic growth seen in improved quality of life for Kenyans.

According to a recent African Development Bank report, real GDP is slated to grow by 6 per cent and inflation is expected to be contained within the manageable 5 per cent range.

Our country’s deficit continues to go down, currently standing at 1.3 per cent or Sh100 billion less than it was at the end of 2017.

This has mainly been attributed to the ongoing implementation of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda touching on health, housing, agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

So far so good, but a lot has to be done. The Big Four agenda set our country on the path of economic growth. When the agenda was constructed, the government settled on these since they would contribute best to the development of the economy, particularly by supporting our key asset –  human capital.

When releasing the agenda Uhuru said: “More jobs will come from deepening investments and from a stable environment – one that is led by the spirit of dialogue and understanding.

The Big Four are labour intensive and all require harmonious labour relations which all actors must strive to achieve”.

Our country’s economic growth can’t of course be disconnected from the hard work of Kenyans, who rank among the hardest working on the continent. This should be rewarded with better policy frameworks that will stimulate growth.

With labour laws ensuring every Kenyan gets one day rest for every six consecutive days of work, the average citizen of our country finds themselves working 52 hours a week.

This by far exceeds the work week of other countries whose citizens are considered hard workers, such as Germany where the average citizen works 40 hours in a five-day work week. Even when considering non full-time employees, the average work week in Kenya still stands at 35 hours, surpassing even the United States average.

Bilateral deals

The hard work of our people has been supported by rigorous labour laws put in place by the government. This has included raising the minimum wage, opening new labour offices in a host of previously underserviced counties and increasing the non-taxable bonus that workers can receive.

Given the significant amount of Kenyans working out of the country, Kenya has signed various bilateral labour agreements in order to ensure that the rights of workers everywhere are protected.

An additional measure the government has been working to implement has been that of professional specialised training in sectors integral for the realisation of the Big 4 Agenda. Government sponsored training programmes have to date helped more than 250,000 citizens become qualified members of the labour force. This number is anticipated to double by 2022.

In a similar light, and with the help of international partners, such as the World Bank, the new Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP) should focus more on enhancing the professional skills of the future generation in Big 4 relevant sectors.

The future of our country should after all, be built by the future leaders of our country.

Continued focus on the professionalisation of our workforce as well as building a supportive labour environment means that our country is slated to meet the targets our president set out for us in his ambitious Vision 2030 plan.

The implementation of the Big 4 agenda received a significant boost a few months ago when the Vice President of the World Bank for Africa Hafez Ghanem, “committed to supporting Kenya in advancing the Big Four agenda both in technical and financial cooperation”.

Collaboration with such prestigious international institutions, supported by the extensive network of contacts President Kenyatta has developed over the years should prove instrumental throughout the remainder of 2020 and beyond.

-The writer is a legal scholar