Kenya: UNDP Pokes Holes in Kenya’s Efforts to Reduce Poverty

Business Daily (Nairobi)

George Ngigi

13 July 2011

Kenya’s huge debt burden, rising fuel prices, and inadequate financial resources are slowing the country’s race to meet the Millennium Development Goals, a UN agency has said.

The UNDP says in a new report that the growing government borrowing coupled with debt repayment were denying Kenya the much-needed impetus to maintain the momentum of progress made so far in the efforts to meet the MDGs by 2015.

“The withholding of external aid in the last decade led to increased government borrowing, which has led to higher servicing costs. As more debt matures, the government will have to pay more money to service it, posing the danger of putting Treasury in a vicious circle of borrowing, thereby reducing the amount available for development” says the report.

To meet the MDGs, Sh411 billion had to be set aside annually in the budget for related sectors which was not the case in 2007/2008 financial year and 2008/2009 year where the minister allocated Sh330 and Sh393 billion respectively. However, in 2009/2010 the allocation rose to Sh521 billion indicating the governments urgency to regain lost ground.

UNDP however notes how ironical it is that on one hand there is inadequate funding and on the other a lack of absorption capacity, which it attributes to inefficiency and bureaucracy.

Last year, ministries returned to Treasury Sh142 billion in unspent funds allocated to them for development projects. But the government reiterated it was acting to ensure it remains on course in achieving the goals.

“The post-election violence, successive droughts and global increases in food and energy costs especially after 2010, are likely to set this MDG off track. Interventions are therefore required and have already been initiated,” said the minister of state for planning, national development and vision 2030, Wycliffe Oparanya.

Other challenges facing the country are population increase especially in urban areas, climatic changes which have brought about extremes of flooding and drought occasioning disruptions in livelihoods of the poor and HIV/AIDS whose prevalence has gone down while absolute numbers of those infected remain high.

While overall poverty and unemployment levels fell, UNDP challenges the government to ensure that the growth is sustainable, inclusive and equitable.

“Progress has been uneven. This disparity is visible between and within countries but more pronounced amid urban and rural regions,” said Maria-Threase Keating UNDP country director.

On gender parity and equality, the provisions in the new constitution earned praise. The introduction of free primary education has also seen the education system achieve gender parity at the lower level with net enrolment up to 93 per cent from 68 per cent in 2000, with 83 per cent literacy.

The country has also made strides in the fight against Malaria, tuberculosis and high mortality rates. Immunisation coverage rose to 77 per cent in 2009 from 53 per cent in 2003, while safe births rose to 92 per cent from 40 per cent in 2004 and 55.7 per cent of households had mosquito nets.

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