Kenya’s Social Development Proposals and Challenges: Review of Kenya Vision 2030 First Medium-Term Plan, 2008-2012

Abstract

Kenya faces several development challenges including poverty, disease, unemployment, negative civic engagement among others. The development bottlenecks worsened following the introduction of the IMF/World Bank-propelled Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the late 1970s and early 1980s. While the SAPs had envisaged benefits, they largely became part of the problem rather than the solution to development in Kenya. Accompanying these were negative civic engagements, particularly, ethnic conflict and political maladministration especially after the re-introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. These drawbacks notwithstanding, development planning went on culminating in the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERSWEC) 2003-2007 in 2002 and its successor, the Kenya Vision 2030 in 2007. While the former was implemented, the latter is on course with the First Five Year Medium-Term Plan running from 2008 to 2012 recently concluded. The blueprint is driven by three pillars, namely; The economic, social and political pillars aimed at transforming the country into a middle income nation status by 2030. In the social pillar of the Vision are envisaged development projects for social transformation of the country. This paper reviews the proposed projects in the social pillar that were to be implemented by the year 2012 and points out the possible challenges that stood on the way of the envisaged transformation and suggests the way forward.

Key words: Devolution, Social development, Vision 2030, Kenya