Why Kenya must invest in human capital

A country’s future lies in its people. That is why Kenya, like all other countries, must solve its current human development crisis if it has to achieve meaningful growth and development. It can solve the crisis by replicating the devolution structures already in place, by increasing international cooperation and by focusing on the poor.

This crisis can be solved in one generation if the government — both the national and county — focuses on the basics: health, education, basic nutrition and social protection.

Investment in people is important for two reasons. First, Kenya’s future economic growth will depend less on its natural resources, which are being depleted, and more on its labour skills and its ability to accelerate a demographic transition.

LAGGING BEHIND

Accelerating the demographic transition to reduce population growth will require education, especially of women, and widely available reproductive health services.

Second, investing in people promotes their individual development and gives them ability to escape poverty. This again requires education and healthcare as well as some measure of income security. The government and most households have invested heavily in human development for many years. By 2000, this investment had started to pay off in much improved human development indicators. But in the recent years, these indicators are lagging behind.

There is need to focus on some critical factors that account for the slowdown in progress.

SCHOOL ENROLMENT

In only a few counties, fertility started to decline marking the last stage in demographic transition. There is need for allocation of higher spending and good access to maternal child health services.

Overall however, Kenya’s demographic transition remains slow. Kenya’s high fertility rate results not only in a rapidly growing population but also in a population with large portions of young people.

Low primary school enrolment seriously undermines economic growth and poverty reduction. Indeed, worldwide no country has enjoyed sustainable economic progress without literacy rates well over 50 per cent.

There is increasing reality of positive backward links between secondary and higher education and other parts of the system, especially teacher education.

DEVOLVED DELIVERY

General political commitment to human development is already in place. What is needed is sustained and specific political commitment. This involves focus, resources, and active involvement. Also, there is need for appropriate service delivery. Human development service delivery in Kenya should be based on two simple premises. First, most problems have well-known cost-effective interventions. Second, weak public institutions at national level means effective delivery must be based on strong community and private institutions.

Devolved delivery is possible now that county governments are in place. It is based on the simple concept of getting resources to where they are needed, and putting them more under the control of the immediate beneficiaries. This can include devolving to the sub-county level to autonomous schools and health centres, and much greater reliance on NGOs. What is common to these approaches is their proximity to the beneficiary so that there is increased accountability.

Prof Gesami is an economist and chair of the Nelson Mandela Centre for African Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. [email protected]