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Recently, a familiar phrase has gripped Kenya’s public discourse. “Kenya must become Africa’s Singapore in our lifetime” is a rallying call framed by President William Ruto as a push for accelerated development that is faster growth, bigger exports, more jobs, better infrastructure, cleaner cities, and a state that works with precision.
It is a potent comparison because it permits Kenyans to dream beyond survival. Singapore stands in the global imagination as proof that a country can move from scarcity to abundance in a single generation through discipline, world-class public administration, heavy investment in skills, and intolerance for corruption, incompetence, and inefficiency.
So, the “Singapore moment” should not be mere admiration but an audit of ourselves based on what we will demand, what we will change, and what we will no longer tolerate.
That choice goes to the heart of accelerated development. Countries move fast when they invest in human capital and then build an economy with a productive place for that talent to go. Singapore and South Korea are often called miracles, but most miracles are simply systems that work.
Kenya’s income per person has improved since independence, yet it remains far behind what those countries achieved by turning education, industrial policy, infrastructure, and governance into one coordinated national project. In matters of economic development, speed is a policy choice, while consistency is a governance choice.
Start with housing, because housing is where development stops being theory and becomes daily life. Singapore did not treat public housing as charity for the poor. It treated it as a national foundation tied to productivity, social stability, and dignity, planned, financed, and delivered at scale, with home ownership as a stabilising force.
Bring that thought home to Kenya, where the scarcity of good housing remains debilitating. A young couple finally earns enough to move out of a single room, then discovers rent wants to eat half their income. A graduate lands a first job, then spends two hours in traffic each way because living near work is beyond his reach.
These are productivity and dignity killers. If Kenya wants acceleration, housing must move from politics to planning, from announcements to delivery, and from one-off projects to a full system that links land, finance, transport, and building standards. Then there is connectivity and infrastructure. Singapore built the basics, power, ports, logistics, public transport, and backed them with a civil service that could execute long-term plans.
Kenya has invested heavily, too, yet ordinary citizens still ask where the results are in their daily lives. Why does everything still feel harder than it should be? The flow of life is still suffocated by permits, licensing, border delays, unpredictable enforcement, and the endless small payments that never appear on receipts.
Of course, Kenya is not Singapore. We are larger, more complex, and our inequalities are different. So, what can Kenya do with this Singapore moment? First, turn the slogan into a measurable national pact. Pick a few acceleration priorities such as affordable housing at scale, a skills-to-jobs pipeline that makes vocational training and modern manufacturing respectable and profitable, and deliver them relentlessly. Add infrastructure judged by costs reduced and time saved, and a predictable business environment where small firms can grow without being milked by permits, bribes, and confusing regulations.
Second, respect the everyday Kenyan, because acceleration is not only national pride on paper. It is the small wins that change a life of Mama Mboga with clean water and safe markets, the boda rider who stops paying daily unofficial fees, and the intern who can land an entry job without knowing someone.
Third, make corruption socially expensive again, not only through arrests, but through systems that reduce discretion, digitise processes, publish contracts, and protect whistleblowers.
If Kenya wants speed, it cannot keep driving with the handbrake of theft. The good thing is that Kenya has already proved it can innovate. M-Pesa changed the world, and Nairobi’s tech scene keeps producing bold ideas.
-Dr. Osewe is a former Global Lead for Public Health at the World Bank
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Recently, a familiar phrase has gripped Kenya’s public discourse. “Kenya must become Africa’s Singapore in our lifetime” is a rallying call framed by President William Ruto as a push for accelerated development that is faster growth, bigger exports, more jobs, better infrastructure, cleaner cities, and a state that works with precision.
It is a potent comparison because it permits Kenyans to dream beyond survival. Singapore stands in the global imagination as proof that a country can move from scarcity to abundance in a single generation through discipline, world-class public administration, heavy investment in skills, and intolerance for corruption, incompetence, and inefficiency.
So, the “Singapore moment” should not be mere admiration but an audit of ourselves based on what we will demand, what we will change, and what we will no longer tolerate.
That choice goes to the heart of accelerated development. Countries move fast when they invest in human capital and then build an economy with a productive place for that talent to go. Singapore and South Korea are often called miracles, but most miracles are simply systems that work.
Kenya’s income per person has improved since independence, yet it remains far behind what those countries achieved by turning education, industrial policy, infrastructure, and governance into one coordinated national project. In matters of economic development, speed is a policy choice, while consistency is a governance choice.
Start with housing, because housing is where development stops being theory and becomes daily life. Singapore did not treat public housing as charity for the poor. It treated it as a national foundation tied to productivity, social stability, and dignity, planned, financed, and delivered at scale, with home ownership as a stabilising force.
Bring that thought home to Kenya, where the scarcity of good housing remains debilitating. A young couple finally earns enough to move out of a single room, then discovers rent wants to eat half their income. A graduate lands a first job, then spends two hours in traffic each way because living near work is beyond his reach.
These are productivity and dignity killers. If Kenya wants acceleration, housing must move from politics to planning, from announcements to delivery, and from one-off projects to a full system that links land, finance, transport, and building standards. Then there is connectivity and infrastructure. Singapore built the basics, power, ports, logistics, public transport, and backed them with a civil service that could execute long-term plans.
Kenya has invested heavily, too, yet ordinary citizens still ask where the results are in their daily lives. Why does everything still feel harder than it should be? The flow of life is still suffocated by permits, licensing, border delays, unpredictable enforcement, and the endless small payments that never appear on receipts.
Of course, Kenya is not Singapore. We are larger, more complex, and our inequalities are different. So, what can Kenya do with this Singapore moment? First, turn the slogan into a measurable national pact. Pick a few acceleration priorities such as affordable housing at scale, a skills-to-jobs pipeline that makes vocational training and modern manufacturing respectable and profitable, and deliver them relentlessly. Add infrastructure judged by costs reduced and time saved, and a predictable business environment where small firms can grow without being milked by permits, bribes, and confusing regulations.
Second, respect the everyday Kenyan, because acceleration is not only national pride on paper. It is the small wins that change a life of Mama Mboga with clean water and safe markets, the boda rider who stops paying daily unofficial fees, and the intern who can land an entry job without knowing someone.
Third, make corruption socially expensive again, not only through arrests, but through systems that reduce discretion, digitise processes, publish contracts, and protect whistleblowers.
If Kenya wants speed, it cannot keep driving with the handbrake of theft. The good thing is that Kenya has already proved it can innovate. M-Pesa changed the world, and Nairobi’s tech scene keeps producing bold ideas.
-Dr. Osewe is a former Global Lead for Public Health at the World Bank
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By Dr Patrick Osewe