Kenyans ushered in the New Year with hopes that the country will have a peaceful election to safeguard economic development gains made at both the national and county governments level.
However, in the spirit of devolution and as the country grapples with the synergies that would drive growth this year, Kenyans must continue shedding the shackles of the old district and provincial boundaries to ensure development trickles to rural Kenya by making them ideal for investment.
It must not be lost that millions of shillings were spent to fast track economic growth leveraging on regional economic blocs. Last year saw counties form blocs such as the Lake Region Economic Bloc, The North Rift Economic Bloc, Frontier Counties Development Council, Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani and South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc to fast track growth in their respective regions.
The blocs were not only meant to help improve trade, economic growth and attract investors, but also create job opportunities, enhance sociocultural relations and allow tariff reconciliation to make the regions more attractive for joint foreign direct investments.
They were also meant to ensure counties speak in one voice on various fronts. The economic impact of such groupings was to spur access to resources, which lowers the cost of production of goods and services significantly for the benefit of consumers.
It was also expected that they would make it possible for various counties grappling with insufficient resources and other deficiencies to meet competing needs by joining forces. Truth is, however, not much has been done to actualise the dreams that informed the formation of such blocs beyond their launch.
This calls for serious re-evaluation and change of tact where need be, to ensure Kenyans benefit from the blocs. For instance, the Lake Region Economic Blueprint was expected to act as a one-stop shop for investors seeking opportunities in strategic sectors namely; agriculture, tourism, education, health, ICT, financial services and infrastructure.
But residents are yet to benefit from promised flagship projects such as agricultural commodities exchange, a regional bank, specialist hospitals and educational centres of excellence. The promised Lake region ring road and tourism circuit remain just that—promises.
The Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani is meant to stimulate growth in the coastal region, but there is no tangible development recorded in proposed sectors, including wildlife and tourism, banking, agriculture and exploitation of natural resources. For the sake of economic development, counties must start actualising the promises entailed in those blueprints.
