Kenya is the only country in the region that does not appear on the list of Least Developed Countries (LDC), according a report released on Thursday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development...
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Friday, July 21, 2006
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3 comments:
I think this is good for Kenya. We have the resources. We need prudent managers.
For the village, the message is clear: Your are not that poor...focus on self-help.
JaGem
Chris Herst writes.....
It is clear that many poor countries including Kenya have been forced to spend millions in their debt interest payments than they are able to invest in the
young, the sick, the undernourished and the poor. At the same time however, it is clear that whilst economic structures continue to benefit those in the rich world, debt relief will not be of much help. Whilst externally imposed development packages retain capital in the hands of external advisors or national elites, debt relief will not be of much help. Whilst indifferent elites continue to embezzle finances, debt relief will not help much. Whilst those who need help most remain without a voice, debt relief will not be of much help.
Indeed, trade barriers, agricultural subsidies, tied aid and corruption both at the international and national level) but also a general lack of understanding of the different needs of people in Africa, in different contexts and regions, all stand in the way from making debt relief applicable and beneficial to the poor. The fact that Kenya is not eligible for debt relief hence makes little
difference to much of Kenya, particularly the people of Sagam.
Until development allocated capital becomes fully country owned, handled by
truly selfless people (both at the national and international level), until such capital is fairly allocated, targeted and distributed at the national level, all in the context of fair international trade and economic structures ? it is up to each and every village or community in Kenya (rich and poor) to organize and mobilize itself, and to create coalitions of determined people (i.e. of the villagers or community/members themselves), who are willing to listen to one another, learn from each other, motivate each other, and ultimately help one
>another. A combined effort to mobilize the multitude of talent and >resources
available in each village/community in Kenya, and the commitment by all to
improve the lives of their neighbors (each within their means) is the key to successful pro-poor development.
The key for the people of Sagam hence has little to do with lower rates of inflation and economic growth, which is the main aim of debt relief, but rather
the central insight developed by Martin Luther King, that poeple are each strands in an inescapable network of mutuality, together woven into a single garment of destiny. That people are not there as self-interested individuals sufficient unto themselves, with no obligations to each other, but that they are all part of a community bound together as citizens with shared needs, mutual
responsibilities and linked destinies.
Chris Herbst
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