Under Jubilee, the economy is growing

In Kenya, agents of gloom and absolute falsehoods easily win our hearts and minds, blinding us from tremendous achievements in economic development or political reality.

Filtering the truth from all the noise around us, especially as the country heads towards the General Elections is going to be challenging to the ordinary Kenyan who relies on mass media or other channels in search of true information on which to make their decisions.

As a country, we should not shy away from celebrating our successes, which gives us the strength to work harder and smarter. After all Kenya’s economy has been tapped by Bloomberg as the 3rd fastest growing in the world.

Kenya is ranked one of the 7 best countries for investments; the second biggest market for retail investors; with the best cargo airline in Africa; and the third best airport in Africa.

Nairobi too is ranked one of the 21 Smart Cities in the world and the 7th most intelligent city in Africa; and we boast of the best think tank, Kippra, in Africa. The list goes on and on.

Kenya’s economy, for instance, is now experiencing a remarkable surge emanating from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s deliberate initiatives in the energy sector.

The consequence of this single initiative has resulted in the falling energy prices that are impacting the economy positively.

While geothermal energy accounts for about 50 per cent of Kenya’s total electricity production, a major leap from 20 per cent two years ago, further growth has been witnessed in similar areas of hydro, solar and wind power.

Leading world economists, such as John Ashbourne, recently argued in the Financial Times of London that Kenya has made a very “clever move” in utilising its own natural resources to produce cheaper and environmentally friendly green energy. “Kenya is really a head of the curve in renewable power,” he told the FT.

According to Mr Ashbourne, Kenya is one of the few large African economies that is likely to perform well this year as it continues to enjoy low fuel prices. On the other hand, our exports have risen 24 per cent over the past one year mainly from rise in prices of tea at about 60 per cent.

Additionally, Kenya’s growth is supplemented by deliberate and massive investments in infrastructure development to a level never witnessed since independence.

Some of the top priority projects aimed at enhancing Kenya’s national economic growth include the SGR (Standard Gauge Railway), Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor, the expansion of the Port of Mombasa, 10,000km of new roads and the futuristic Konza Techno-city, among others.

One of the clearest indications that Kenya’s economic growth is on the right track is the fact that during the first quarter of the current financial year alone, the Government has, for the first time in five years, recorded a Budget surplus.

The Jubilee Government has already sent clear signals to the world that it is determined to ensure that Kenya’s socio-economic growth is among the very best, both on the African continent and globally.

Another expert, an international economist Charles Robertson of Renaissance Capital has also expressed his positive prediction of Kenya’s economic growth, while complementing the Government for having utilised revenues and savings from the falling global oil prices well by cutting the current account deficit to less than 5.5 per cent of GDP, which is a low and sustainable figure.

When the floodgates of wealthy investors opens for Kenya as the emerging market globally, and we have begun to see such a growing trend, real growth will be experienced besides job opportunities for thousands of youth who comprise Kenya’s respected labour force.

The fact that Kenya has the highest unemployment rate has been a concern of President Kenyatta, whose initiatives are indicative of his determination to address the plight of youth who constitute 35 per cent of the Kenyan population and suffer the highest unemployment rate at 67 per cent.

Consequently, the government has confronted this problem two-fold; job creation by creating the right environment and putting in place entrepreneurial opportunities for self-employment.

Towards this end, various financing vehicles including the Youth Enterprise Development Fund ($127 million disbursed), The Women’s Enterprise Fund ($66 million disbursed), and the more recently launched Uwezo Fund ($64 million disbursed).

These funds have not only made capital accessible to women and youth owned enterprises, but also extended free business training to them.

A total of $257 million has been disbursed through these funds. As a country, we are matching stronger in the right direction.