Kenya Vision 2030 Director General Kenneth Mwige. [Jonah Onyango, Standard When President Mwai Kibaki took office in 2003, he launched the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS), shifting national focus from poverty alleviation to wealth creation. I was privileged to contribute to this shift, working with the Ministry of Planning to establish a Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate. That ERS laid the groundwork for the more ambitious Kenya Vision 2030, a holistic development plan I helped shape. Today, we stand at another critical juncture. It is time for us to refocus fully on Vision 2030. Gen Z must embrace it as a northern…
Author: By Gachara Kamanga
There can be no meaningful economic prosperity if our people are burdened by disease. That is why the 2010 Constitution wisely devolved health services to the counties. But as one moves from national to county levels, capacity, especially in human resources and systems, thins out alarmingly. It’s no wonder public outcry about the dysfunctionality of county health services is so common. I recall Senator Boni Khalwale, a medical doctor, once asking that health be removed from the Fourth Schedule and returned to the national government, citing large-scale county-level failure. The evidence was (and remains) everywhere: Health workers going on strike…
A coffee farmer sorts out coffee berries at a coffee factory in Mathira, Nyeri County. [File, Standard] For decades, Kenya’s coffee has tantalised the global market with its rich aroma and distinctive acidity. Yet, paradoxically, the farmers who produce this world-class Arabica continue to live on the margins of poverty, selling their cherries at Sh50 to Sh150 per kilo. Meanwhile, a kilo of processed Kenyan coffee retails abroad for over Sh2,000. That discrepancy is unacceptable. It’s time to turn a new leaf so that Kenyan coffee can fetch ten times its current price. This will require dismantling an entrenched system of inefficiency, middlemen, outdated laws…
A section of ballot boxes containing presidential papers from Jomvu polling station which was part of the 15 polling stations where Presidential ballot papers cast there were recalled for recounting at Milimani court buildings on Wednesday,August 31,2022 where the supreme court is hearing a petition challenging the win of President elect William Ruto as the president.[FILE/Standard] Every election season, Kenyans flock to the ballot with hopes as high as the peaks of Mount Kenya. We elect governors with dreams drawn from the golden promises of the 2010 Constitution: equity, accountability, grassroots empowerment, and transformation. But a decade later, the reality across most counties stands in bitter…
Drip irrigation at work. This method utilises less water which is targeted to the roots. When we voted for the 2010 Constitution, we were not just choosing a set of legal articles. We were endorsing a bold and ambitious vision of decentralised, dignified governance that could deliver real transformation. Chapter 11, which speaks to devolved government, was especially revolutionary. It promised power closer to the people, resources for forgotten regions, and a government that listens rather than lectures. .fade-out-overlay{position:absolute;top:-80px;left:0;width:100%;height:60px;z-index:1;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(255,255,255,0),rgba(255,255,255,1))}.paywall-container{position:relative;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;padding:25px;border:1px solid #e0e0e0;border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,.1);background-color:#fff}.paywall-container h2{text-align:center}.paywall-container a{text-decoration:none!important}.paywall-header{font-size:24px;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:15px;color:#333;text-align:center}.price-highlight{font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;color:#d40511;margin:15px 0;text-align:center}.price-highlight .original-price{text-decoration:line-through;color:#777;margin-right:0}.divider{border-top:1px solid #e0e0e0;margin:20px 0}.subscribe-button{display:block;width:100%;padding:12px;background-color:#d40511;color:#fff;border:none;border-radius:4px;font-size:25px;font-weight:bold;cursor:pointer;margin-bottom:20px;transition:background-color .3s;text-decoration:none}.subscribe-button:hover{background-color:#b0030e;text-decoration:none}.features-list{margin:20px 0;padding-left:20px;list-style:none}.features-list li{margin-bottom:10px;list-style-type:none;position:relative;padding-left:25px;list-style-type:none!important}.features-list li:before{content:”✓”;color:#d40511;position:absolute;left:0;font-weight:bold}.existing-subscriber{text-align:center;color:#555;font-size:14px}.existing-subscriber a{color:#d40511;text-decoration:none}.existing-subscriber a:hover{text-decoration:underline} Get…
Council of Governors CEO Mary Mwiti at the Devolution Conference Steering Committee civil society organisations and private sector stakeholders official unveiling of the Devolution Conference 2025 registration website , marking the commencement of registration for the event that will be held in Homa Bay County from 12th to 15th August under the theme “For the People, For Prosperity: Devolution as a Catalyst for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice” to the members of the public. at Movenpick Hotel , Nairobi on 3rd April 2025. [David Gichuru, Standard] More than a decade after the rollout of Kenya’s devolved system of governance, the promise of localised development remains largely…
President Mwai Kibaki takes the oath of office as the President of Kenya after being re-elected in 2007 at State House, Nairobi. [File, Standard] As we commemorate the third year of Kenya’s third President Mwai Kibaki’s passing, let’s pause and reflect on the powerful lessons he bequeathed us. My first encounter with Mwai Kibaki was in 1980 during a prize-giving day at Kagumo High School, where I was in Form Two. I remember how impeccably dressed he was, with his well-fitting belt standing out. He was just 50 years young. Decades later, it is evident to all that Vision 2030, the brainchild of Kibaki’s leadership, laid the groundwork for…