Kenya's great development illusion: We built the infrastructure, but forgot the people

A section of the Nairobi Expressway. [File, Standard]

Kenya has built much of the physical foundation of a modern economy. Roads have expanded, electricity access has increased, ports have been modernised, digital infrastructure has transformed communication, and public investment has reshaped the country’s physical landscape. Yet beneath these visible achievements lies a difficult question: Has infrastructure translated into prosperity for the majority of Kenyans?

As Kenya approaches 2030, the deadline around which its most ambitious long-term development blueprint was constructed, the country must honestly examine the distance between what was promised and what citizens actually experience.