The Impact Of Governance On Development In Kenya: 1980 - 2000

Abstract

This research project examines the impact of governance on economic development in Kenya between 1980 and 2000. The analysis reveals that bad governance has impacted negatively on economic development and is a major factor that militates against economic development in the country. Although governance has become a common vocabulary in both academic and socio-political discourse, its meaning and analytical content has not been brought to the fore clearly. Many analysts have used the concept loosely to suit their narrow purposes. Govemance is a complex process that involves three main actors - the state, the civil society and the private sector - as opposed to the popular view that good governance is good government. However, these three actors have not played their roles exceedingly well in Kenya. Chapter One shows that although the word governance has become popular among scholars and practitioners alike, there is still no consensus about its meaning and analytical content. Chapter Two treats the evolution of govemance as a field of study. It shows that the discourse on the govemance-development nexus is quite recent. Chapter Three examines the intricate relationship between govemance and public administration. The study argues that effective public administration is crucial to policy credibility and sustainability which is also central to good governance. Chapter Four and Five examine the govemance trend in Kenya between 1980 and 2000. These chapters underline several points; that good governance is a prerequisite for economic development; that good govemance is not a sole responsibility of the government; that authority and power to govern do not rest solely on political leadership and; that good govemance is difficult to institute and maintain in a single party regime as opposed to a multiparty regime. However, it further revealed that multiparty democracy is not tantamount to good governance. Kenya experienced bad governance even during the multiparty era.