Graft war and job creation offers glimmer of hope

The 2020 Economic Survey report was recently released, and the results show decent economic growth in 2019. Last year, a total of 843,000 jobs were created in Kenya, an increase of 3,000 from the previous year and 10,000 from the year before that.

The report also indicated that during the second half of last year, inflation dropped, making food and other products more affordable for the Kenyan consumer.

Job creation and reduced inflation are perhaps the best indicators of economic growth.

The coronavirus has made things more difficult. But if the past year is any indication of the economic trajectory that Kenya is on, then we will be able to produce a real turnaround in the medium term in post-coronavirus era.

One of the people responsible for this good news is Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.

Mr Yatani took over the National Treasury after his predecessor was sacked. He is working hard to rid the National Treasury of graft.

The government’s war on corruption has yielded fruits. Many top government officials linked to graft have been fired and prosecuted. This sets an example to leaders who are abusing power in Kenya.

In a democracy, an elected official should be chosen because his or her constituents belief that that leader is the best person for the job and not how connected they are and their ability to buy votes.

The truth is that Kenya has not always really operated like that. Most of our politicians have used their positions to serve themselves more than serving their people.

And that has been one of the main things keeping too many Kenyans below the poverty line. At times it has stopped us from being globally competitive in international markets, because we have been too busy trying to sort out issues at home. It hinders job growth and widens the gap between the rich and the poor.

But from this report and other economic indicators, Kenya is beginning to do better in terms of the economic growth. The portion of informal employment still remains much larger than the formal sector, like in much of Africa, which is a testament to the go-getting, innovative attitude of our youth.

Nothing will stop this young, well-educated generation from having the lives they want to have, from creating good jobs for themselves when opportunities seem scarce. This would not be possible without the government’s prudent financial policies.

Kenya’s past is shrouded in poverty and corruption. However, its future will be coloured by fiscal growth, competing in global markets, and leading Africa to be the most dynamic continent of the 21st century.

2020 might not be as good as 2019 in terms of job creation due to the coronavirus pandemic, not just in Kenya but across the world.  We have already seen stocks fall and joblessness surge both in Kenya and abroad.

While young people might be struggling to find jobs, they can rest assured that it will not always be like this. We are all in this together, and once the coronavirus pandemic is behind us, Kenya will advance her development agenda