High cost of living and poor leadership ‘taking Kenya in the wrong direction’

A majority of Kenyans believe that the country is generally heading in the wrong direction, according to the poll by Ipsos Kenya.

The survey conducted for the Nation Media Group showed that 58 per cent of Kenyans found things bad compared to 29 per cent who thought otherwise.

The poll revealed that 76 per cent of Cord supporters see the country heading in the wrong direction while 41 per cent from Jubilee supported the same sentiment.

Some 46 per cent of Amani Coalition supporters also said things were going in the wrong direction.

Those who said things were not going well cited high cost of living, a deteriorating economy, lack of employment and poor leadership as some of the things driving the country in the wrong direction.

Of the 2,021 Kenyans polled, a majority in the 30-45 years age bracket (63 per cent) believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

According to the poll, 80 per cent of those at the Coast said the country was heading in the wrong direction, while 30 per cent of those in central Kenya were of similar view.

The research also showed that in Nyanza, 78 per cent of the respondents said Kenya was heading in the wrong direction while 61 per cent of Nairobi residents agreed with the same sentiment.

CITED TERRORISM

Those who said the country was generally heading in the wrong direction cited the high cost of living (44 per cent), economy (19 per cent) and poor leadership and lack of employment, which both polled at eight per cent.

Only three per cent of the respondents cited terrorism as a reason for Kenya’s woes.

The Ipsos poll further revealed that those who said the country was headed in the right direction cited an improved economy (21 per cent), improved infrastructure (17 per cent) and good leadership (12 per cent) as reasons for their view.