2 reactions
Ruto fumbled on Kenya’s economic rebound
Georgetown University political economy professor Ken Opalo argues that reforming Kenya's economy was an inherently difficult task, especially given the fiscal crisis inherited by the Ruto administration.
For the past two and a half years, the administration has focused on revenue generation, largely adopting a reactive rather than proactive economic policy. Opalo suggests their primary goal has been to buy time amidst domestic political challenges and external economic shocks.
However, Opalo warns that the specific strategies employed to buy this time, such as embracing informalization, high levels of domestic borrowing in Kenyan shillings, aggressive and distortionary revenue collection, and incomplete interventions to support the informal sector, are likely to cause future economic stagnation and political instability.
He emphasizes that Kenya's young workforce requires numerous decent, formal wage jobs within a thriving private sector. Pushing them towards self-employment or under-employment in the informal sector, he concludes, is a short-sighted strategy that will not foster the dynamism and productivity improvements necessary to alleviate poverty for millions of Kenyans.
Link to the text: https://www.africanistperspective.com/p/on-the-kenyan-economy-under-william
#local
Georgetown University political economy professor Ken Opalo argues that reforming Kenya's economy was an inherently difficult task, especially given the fiscal crisis inherited by the Ruto administration.
For the past two and a half years, the administration has focused on revenue generation, largely adopting a reactive rather than proactive economic policy. Opalo suggests their primary goal has been to buy time amidst domestic political challenges and external economic shocks.
However, Opalo warns that the specific strategies employed to buy this time, such as embracing informalization, high levels of domestic borrowing in Kenyan shillings, aggressive and distortionary revenue collection, and incomplete interventions to support the informal sector, are likely to cause future economic stagnation and political instability.
He emphasizes that Kenya's young workforce requires numerous decent, formal wage jobs within a thriving private sector. Pushing them towards self-employment or under-employment in the informal sector, he concludes, is a short-sighted strategy that will not foster the dynamism and productivity improvements necessary to alleviate poverty for millions of Kenyans.
Link to the text: https://www.africanistperspective.com/p/on-the-kenyan-economy-under-william
#local
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