District planning as a strategy for rural development in Kenya. (Siaya district case study).

Abstract

It is the Kenya Government's policy that most of its development· efforts will be directed towards the rural areas where most of the national problems such as poverty, disease, ignorance and unemployment are most acute. The Government's problem in this regard has been. how to design a suitable strategy or method of approach for the development of the rural areas. As a result,it has tried strategies such as The Swynnert.on Plan, the settlement schemes, Special Rural Development Program, a scheduled network of service and growth centers and more lately, District Planning The aim 'of the study was therefore to evaluate how District Planning, as a strategy for rural development can't satisfy the various issues involved in rural development. The critical issues involved 'in rural development are identified by the study as: 1) Land Tenure and Agricultural Development. 2) Rural settlement patterns and the provision of Government services such as water, schools., health services, roads and electricity • How are -these services channeled into the rural areas to benefit the majority of the people in the rural areas. 3) Peoples' participation in their development. Is there sufficient 'institutions for peoples' participation. How are peoples.mobilized to participate, what is the level of participation?

These issues are, looked at with regard to the Government's existing policies concerning them and how district planning is capable or not 'of 'resolving them to lead to material benefits for the people in the rural areas. The study therefore examines how district plan projects are formulated, how they are coordinated, the 'Way they are financed people's' participation in the planning. All these are considered with the back ground of the district resource endowments.

The focus of the study is therefore on rural development and the Issues involved in it. Given such issues is District Planning capable, of resolving them so that the problems of poverty, disease, ignorance and unemployment are minimized or eventually eliminated?

After such analysis,: the problems are identified and alternative policies and strategies for rural development is suggested A model for the development policies and strategies for rural development is suggested . The thesis of the study is that District Planning, far from being a strategy for rural development in Kenya,will only be .away of representing the Ministry of Finance and Planning down this district level to co-ordinate the programmes.of other operating Ministries. After' the study and analysis, there was sufficient evidence to prove' this,content on this is because , 1) The machinery for planning below the district to be very ,weak or non-existent. 2) Peoples' participation in development planning at the District and even national level is almost non-existent. In fact most people do not know that there is district development committee devoted to district development. There is absolute lack of knowledge on the part of the people of;what the government is doing. This is because of the, absence of an instrument for mobilizing the people and through which national policies and programmes can be formulated,be discussed and their rationale explained to the people to embrace and carry them out The inactivity of the National Party. 3) Rural problems such as poverty, disease and unemployment are likely to continue and to intensify because national policies that could help alleviate them, ironically encourages more of these problems. These are policies such as: a) Land Policy - only helps to create land-lessness in, the rural areas. b) Settlement policies - makes government services reach only few people. Industrial Policy. is aimed more at protecting foreign interests. Even industrial development, based on growth centers policy is,difficult to achieve because the private sector is not controlled by the policy makers. Planning has no legal ,backing in,Kenya, and so can 'not be effective. d) And there is very little 'that can be done at the district level to influence the~e policy areas These are policies that would be decided on at the nation level and not the' district level. As a result, it is suggested that only a transformation,approach to rural development that interferes increasingly with the lives of the people in the rural areas will succeed in resolving rural development problems of poverty, disease, ignorance and unemployment.