Are Kenya’s two mainstream political formations addressing the root questions of survival, or are they simply too absorbed in the immediate aspiration of election to office? Ethical Business explores.
The next election cycle is due on 9 August to elect a new president and national lawmakers, as well as the governors and assemblies of the country’s 47 counties. The month of June saw both political coalitions present their respective manifestoes.
Against a backdrop of the country’s current fiscal distress, candidates, particularly the two main coalitions, Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance, face the ordeal of plugging their recently-unveiled manifestoes in achieving Kenya’s long-term development agenda to become an internationally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life by 2030.
But the cynosure is how critically climate issues are considered in the upcoming Kenyan polls as well as the degree these manifestoes function as a mainstay in highlighting climate change and green growth issues that today occupy a lofty perch in the global development discourse. Kenya’s Green Economy Strategy is geared towards enabling the country to attain a higher growth rate consistent with the Vision 2030, which firmly embeds the principles of sustainable development in the overall growth strategy. Globally, green growth is gradually supplanting the 20th-century economic model. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) describes green growth as “a means of fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies”.
Some media outlets report that citizens and civil society activists have petitioned for climate action. If this is accurate, discourse on climate policies and green growth should feature more prominently across the political divide.
Unmistakable effects of climate crisis
Despite being considered a low emitter of greenhouse gases, Kenya must deliberate on climate change owing to its extreme susceptibility. Some of these effects are already manifest as the country reels from rising temperatures, unreliable rainfall patterns, escalating prevalence of droughts and floods, sporadic wildfires, and waves of locust invasions. This has, consequently, fomented food deficiency, epidemics, displaced persons, ethnic strife and with it numerous fatalities.
The climate and green growth issue ought to have a major impact on this year’s election as erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, severe drought, famine, and the perennial food insecurity situation in the country put emission-reduction efforts at the top of the agenda.
Business Daily columnist and former chief executive of the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre, Edward Mungai, estimates that climate change results in socio-economic loss of approximately 3-5 percent of the GDP. In his newspaper column, he opines that as we head to the elections, presidential candidates’ manifestos must give the way forward on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and provide mechanisms for addressing the issue.
Speaking, recently, to a high-level panel of climate leaders that included US envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during a discussion on climate action at Davos 2022 in Switzerland, Budding Kenyan climate activist, Elizabeth Wathuti observes Kenya is suffering from climate change, citing the prolonged drought in the country’s northeastern region.
She notes that the climate crisis is impacting nearly every sector of the country’s economy, insisting that bold leadership is needed to bounce back.
“The reality of climate change is here and getting worse, because we are not taking the clear and concrete steps science tells us we need to in order to turn things around.
Unpersuasive declarations of intent
Broadly, the two coalitions’ manifestoes lack specifics and purpose and both go awry in clarifying how they expect to finance their promises. Neither coalition’s manifesto is sufficiently audacious and all they actually suggest is the retention of status quo and/or to offer hopefulness. How exactly they intend to reach climate neutrality is hard to tell. With such nebulous declarations of intent, neither the Kenya Kwanza nor Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance seems ready to effectively confront the existential danger posed by the climate crisis and loss of biodiversity.
Which in essence signals continuity with policies of outgoing leader Uhuru Kenyatta, whose Jubilee Party advanced innovation, technological leadership and economic growth at the heart of their climate chapter in its goal of reaching climate neutrality as Kenya’s contribution to following the 1.5° path globally.
Numerous issues may induce a voter to prefer one coalition over another. These include the economy, security, jobs, anti-corruption drive, service provision, land policies, among others. But climate policy seems to have been held in abeyance in the political discourse, particularly in contrast to the aforesaid issues. If election manifestos are a token of voters’ policy choices and a hors d’oeuvre of the predilection of the next government, then these are bad tidings for Kenya.
“Candidates are generally mum on matters environment, and while they mainly focus on macro-economic development, infrastructure and job creation, they forget the negative effects of climate change on the same,” Mungai observes, adding that manifestos of various political parties need to have provisions that directly address climate change.
In concurrence, the Director of Enviro Ticlam International Ltd, Tiberius Mutoro, says that few candidates in the upcoming polls recognise the magnitude of the climate crisis and its threat to society.
“We need solutions to environmental and social injustices which will transform society and communities through the political influence of environmental policies, regulations and laws,” he suggests.
To their credit, both coalitions mention the climate crisis. However, none of them furnish explicit measures to cogently address neither the crisis nor the green growth promise. Even more illuminating is how loosely the climate conversation features in their respective policy positions.
Mungai says that going forward, the electorate will interrogate manifestos to explore how political leaders understand and respond to emerging climate change threats.
“Parties will need to embrace the climate change agenda in more detail instead of current trends where it is perceived as a non-issue,” he concludes.
Green growth as anchor of stability
The Green growth agenda, if well-anchored in the overall trade policy, presents Kenya with an opportunity to decarbonise every sector of the economy, while delivering social justice across the country and introducing high standards and effective measures for global climate action.
According to Mutoro, as Kenyans head to the elections, a key centrepiece – economic growth – cannot stand without support structures like social empowerment, environmental sustainability investment and growth, as well as supporting the circular economy and green growth.
“More focus should be on recognising the established and emerging SMEs, community-based organisations, innovations in green jobs like waste recycling, organic manuring, upcycling, waste recovery and reuse, transformation of landfill areas into green spaces, training and capacity building and financing of sound environmental innovations,” he says.
Mutoro states that these would aid jobs creation, income generation, social transformation, behaviour change and self-reliance, hence realise solutions to the social and environmental insanity. Nonetheless, he is unequivocal that strong political goodwill, campaigns and influence are paramount.
Sustainable economy bill
With no clear winner in the manifesto stakes, Kenya’s emergent eco-conscious voters should aim to push political parties hard on promises around the environment, energy and other relevant sectors after the elections. As a matter of priority, political parties must incorporate in their manifestoes a sustainable economy bill to ensure the economy functions within environmental limits and require that decisions made consider the needs of the future.
In a perennially drought ravaged nation and food insecure country, the government must be very staunch about protecting the environment, and about fighting climate change. In other words, “green growth” should be the common divisor that runs right through any and all policies.
Before any promises are made or policies written, the incoming governing coalition and both houses of parliament, should be compelled to inquire how policies impact all aspects of the ecosystem before enactment. Eventually, this should be a fused and inherent part of policy formulation and legislation.
Conceivably, in the wake of the post 2022 polling cycle, Kenya shall have a governing coalition whose development agenda weaves the green growth through every policy.
