1. INFRASTRUCTURE: A CRITICAL PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE THAT FACES THE
KENYAN NATION TODAY.
By Beatrice Adera Amollo, January, 2013
INTRODUCTION
A policy has been defined as “the translation of a government’s political priorities and principles into
programs, projects and actions to deliver desired changes within a given time frame” (Comptroller and
Audit General UK, 2001 cited in Kibua & Oyugi, 2007). Schuster (2008), states that public policy is
embodied in constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions. In Kenya, public policies are part of
the Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030’s core functions since it gives
broad policy direction through coordination and writing of district development plans, national
development plans and sessional papers. Both the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR),
an independent private organization and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis
(KIPPRA) which is an autonomous public institute conduct policy analysis and research, and training;
and shares with or advises the government, its development partners, private sector, and civil society,
for the attainment of the national development goals.
THE CRITICAL ISSUES FOR KENYA
The critical issues or challenges with public policies in Kenya are not only the issues they address, but
also found at the formulation and implementation stages of the policies.
Some of Kenya’s major public and national concerns are highlighted in the Vision 2030, a
development programme comprising of three key pillars – economic, social and political – to be
tackled in the period 2008 to 2030. Vision 2030 may be considered to be a public policy that was
developed through an all-inclusive and participatory stakeholder consultative process. It bases its three
pillars on seven (7) major national developmental concerns. These are:-
1. Macro-economic stability 4. Land Reform
2. Infrastructure 5. Human Resources Development
3. Science, Technology and Innovation 6. Security
(STI) 7. Public sector reform
INFRASTRUCTURE
In this paper, the author focuses on infrastructure as one of the most critical issues facing Kenya since it impacts
on its social and economic progress. The need for infrastructure development to lure private investment and spur
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2. economic growth has been noted in most of Kenya’s development policies. Infrastructure serves as a strategic
foundation for economic transformation in general and the application of technology to development in particular.
The term infrastructure has been defined in the Encyclopædia Britannica as “A collective term for the subordinate
parts of an undertaking; a substructure, foundation” (infrastructure, 2013a). It is “the basic physical and
organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society
or enterprise” (infrastructure, 2013b). Economic and social infrastructure plays a vital role in the development
process and it includes roads, electricity and water supply, sanitation systems, irrigation, schools, hospitals,
clinics, airports, and telecommunications (Hope, 2010). To achieve a credible level of industrialization, Kenya
requires substantial overhaul of its current infrastructure. There are gaps in all the above listed forms of
infrastructure and the needs are broad based.
Kenya’s poor infrastructure is a major impediment to the achievement of Vision 2030 and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). The current infrastructure investment levels are far below those required and
resulted in low investment levels in the country. For instance, the issue of electricity has adversely affected
growth in the industrial and entrepreneurial sectors. The frequent power outages in the country have become
frequent and go for so long. Formal and informal businesses, government offices, private residences and all others
who can afford it have had to invest in generators as a fundamental necessity of daily functioning (Hope, 2010).
Some prevailing challenges in Kenya’s power sub-sector include:- the continued operation of very expensive
emergency diesel power generation; the over-dependence on hydropower which severely constrains electric
power generation during droughts; limited availability of long-term financing to the power utilities; vandalism
and theft of transformers and power cables; the escalating cost of capital-intensive generation projects; and the
scattered and sparsely populated rural areas, among others (Hope, 2010). To address these challenges brought
about by the power crisis in Kenya, it must become an added priority of the government. There is need for careful
assessment and considerations for the use of a variety of power generation technologies which include renewable
energy. For a long term solution, all the stakeholders in the public and private sector must be involved in the
policy formulation and implementation.
In relation to the infrastructure challenge and in seeking long lasting solutions within an effective policy, there is
need to address issues concerning the protection and conservation of the environment for the benefit of future
generations and the wider international community and the need to cultivate a social attitude of respect and care
for public infrastructure facilities and services among all citizens (Hope, 2010). The latter, if achieved will ensure
preservation which will result in a major and permanent shift in individual and societal attitudes and behaviors.
The power issue cannot be tackled all at once; it takes time and cooperation from all citizens. There is need for a
clear and articulate policy based on “System approaches” as articulated by Ozga (2005) which will ensure
understanding and cooperation from the masses.
Other infrastructural considerations that the country should address include:-
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3. The Port: According to Hope (2010), the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which has responsibility for the
management and administration of the port needs to invest in improvement in the facilities of the current
container terminal. The performance of the port of Mombasa has been an issue of public interest for a
long time. There are ongoing attempts at establishing another port in Lamu (Kenya Vision 2030, 2013).
Schools and hospitals: There are still a large number of Kenyans who cannot access or afford these basic
services.
Water supply: Some parts of the country, especially rural areas do not have access to clean or tap water
despite the government’s efforts over the last 10 or so years.
It is one thing to have the right policies and another to be able to afford their implementation. Kenya’s
infrastructure funding gap will need to be addressed. Without funding, the plans will stall. An example of the
government’s efforts is the issuance of infrastructure bonds by the government has proven to be very an attractive
method of fund raising for infrastructure development. Other sources of investment capital could be mobilized
and done to attract private investment and Private Public Partnerships (PPP), in particular private participation in
infrastructure (PPI).
FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
Kibua & Oyugi (2007) and others outline some of the challenges at the formulation and implementation stages
of policy making in Kenya. These include:-
Acceptability: Researchers from the two public and private institutions need to package their findings in a
language and format that can easily be understood by, and accessible and acceptable to policy-makers.
Policy reversals: Kibua & Oyugi (2007) observe that the government policies are often ambiguous and subject to
reversals.
Collaboration with peers: There is minimal collaboration among the research and policy institutes, despite the
fact that they may be financed by similar institutions.
Research and policy implications– theory versus practice: Ideally, research institutions are supposed to
generate intellectual capital, which becomes a critical input in the policy-making process. In theory, the issue of
what constitutes intellectual capital and the technological process of feeding it into the policy production process
remains basically unresolved.
Monitoring: The Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, has not been able to set
targets for most of the indicators in the gender monitoring framework like for the other monitoring frameworks.
This belies a gap in monitoring in the implementation of policies. (Government of the Republic of Kenya, 2009).
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4. CONCLUSION
Much attention and effort must be given by the Kenyan authorities to infrastructure development to allow the
public and private sectors to implement policies successfully and deliver goods and services for poverty reduction
and sustainable development. It is evident that the government is gradually moving away from the one-way street
of inadequate and poorly performing infrastructure towards the two-way street along which economic growth and
development encourages demand for infrastructure, and infrastructure generates economic growth and
development. Thus, the need for practical and affordable infrastructure policies that will not only be perceived as
top-down, but down-top and all encompassing.
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5. REFERENCES
Government of the Republic of Kenya. (2009). National reporting framework of indicators: The Vision
2030 first medium-term plan. Nairobi, Kenya: Ministry of State for Planning, National
Development and Vision 2030.
Kibua, T.N. & Oyugi, L.N. (2007). Influencing development policies through research: The Kenyan
experience. In Ayuk, E. T. & Marouani, M. A. (Eds). (2007). Policy paradox in Africa:
Strengthening links between economic research and policymaking (pp. 239 - 261). Ottawa,
Canada: IDRC Books. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/asi/Doc?id=10187155
Hope, Sr, K. R. (2010) Infrastructure constraints and development in Kenya : An analytical review.
Journal of Infrastructure Development, 2(2). 91–104. DOI: 10.1177/097493061100200201
infrastructure. (2013a). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/288009/infrastructure
infrastructure. (2013b). In Oxford University Press. Retrieved from
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/infrastructure
Kenya Vision 2030. (2013). Development of Dongo Kundu FreePort. Available from
http://www.vision2030.go.ke/index.php/projects/details/Economic/183
Ozga, J (2005). Models of policy-making and policy learning. Paper for Seminar on Policy Learning in
14-19 Education. Joint seminar of Education and Youth Transitions Project and Nuffield Review
of 14-19 Education, 15 March 2005. University of Edinburgh: Centre for Educational Sociology.
Retrieved from http://www.ces.ed.ac.uk/PDF%20Files/EYT_SP05_JO.pdf
Schuster II, M. W. (2008). For the greater good: The use of public policy considerations in confirming
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