Rural poverty persists as urban wealth grows

By Frankline Sunday

Kenyans living in rural areas and slums continue to lag behind as the rest of the country records marginal improvement in living standards.

A report by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund notes that despite an increase in GDP, the inequality between  rural and urban dwellers is growing.

“Urban poverty rates have not only been relatively low, but have also declined across all regions of the world,” the report says. “The challenge of poverty reduction, however, remains largely in rural areas and is concentrated in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.”

The report notes Kenya is one of the countries with disproportionate development.

The general perception is that towns and cities have a higher chance of creating well-paying jobs compared to rural areas.

“Cities make public services more accessible at a cheaper cost,” adds the report. “For example, the cost of providing piped water is averagely $0.7–$0.8 (Sh58.63-Sh67) per cubic metre in urban areas compared with $2 (Sh167.50) in sparsely populated areas.”

The result is that the poor pay the highest price for most public amenities, despite having the lowest consumption levels.

Education

Education was also noted as another area where the poor lose out to their wealthier counterparts. For instance, pubescent primary school children from poor families miss six weeks of learning annually due to a lack of sanitary towels.

The disparity in resource distribution and income levels has led to an increase in rural to urban migration, leading to overcrowding in urban areas, an increase in slums and a spike in crime rates.

According to James Shikwati, the director of the Inter-Regional Economic Network, the answer to pulling more Kenyans in rural areas out of poverty is resource management at the county levels.

“The reason east Asian economies were able to reduce their poverty rates was that they had governance structures centred on building the economy from a united front.”