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The Standard e-Paper
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In making 2026 “a defining year in Kenya’s history”, to quote the President’s New Year address, we begin with the 2026/27 budget process now in full flow.
By June 2027, the totality of government will have spent about Sh40 trillion in 14 financial years and a bit, including almost Sh9 trillion in “investments.”
Tough questions around development, service delivery and accountability are valid, but we should focus on how to transform our county economies.
Back-of-the-envelope calculations tell us that Vision 2030 double digit growth rates would have gotten us to upper middle-income status by 2024.
It’s worth hearing how the NADCO issues — including inclusivity, devolution, youth livelihoods, leadership and integrity, will be handled as a matter of daily business.
Let’s just say that Kenya is yet to discover an administration that is willing to constructively tackle our expenditure problem, debt treadmill notwithstanding.
Kenya needs a “formula” that uses integrated sector-level indicator-specifications for development and service delivery to permit cooperation deals between national and county governments.
President Ruto is able to build a holistic vision that leverages BETA and Vision 2030, and to do this requires, an evaluation of the development blueprint, even though we have four years to go.
A reflection on the 2006 call for inclusive national dialogue after the failed referendum, questioning whether today’s 10-Point Agenda reflects genuine pre-2027 honesty or political hubris.
The single thread that runs through our post-election deals is that we simply refuse to implement the Constitution not just as a persuasive legal command, but as an imaginative policy advisory.
As the 4th International Investment Conference approaches, questions arise about youth engagement and voter registration ahead of Kenya’s 2027 elections.
Mounting scandals and opaque deals in Kenya’s government are fuelling concerns over accountability, governance, and the integrity of upcoming electoral processes.
Rising political violence and “goon” culture in Kenya could push the country towards instability unless urgent action is taken ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kenya’s repeated protests expose a widening gap between leadership and citizens, underscoring the need for a new, people-centred social contract.
A chaotic fortnight of conflicting fuel decisions and narratives has deepened public distrust, exposing serious gaps in transparency, policy coherence, and accountability.
The Kenya Kwanza administration portrayed as having a bold economic vision undermined by inconsistent execution, reflecting a “Jekyll and Hyde” style of governance.
Kenya’s latest Economic Survey reveals a quieter truth behind the headlines: slower growth, shrinking regional standing and a widening gap between ambition and reality.
Kenya’s hosting of the Africa Forward Summit and the UN’s Nairobi expansion signal the city’s rising status as the Global South’s diplomatic hub.
An argument that Kenya’s budget debate has shifted from taxation to deeper concerns over accountability, debt and economic growth.
Although the fuel strike has eased, concerns are growing that rising fuel costs and budget pressures could trigger wider public unrest over the government’s economic policies.
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