The top 10 African countries by GDP (PPP) are: Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan, Libya. Kenya is 12th in the African GDP list because our economy is clearly crippled. Well…

Ironically, Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa but about half of our 50 million population lives below the poverty line. About 75 percent of Kenyans earn all or part of their income from Agriculture, which could be the main engine of economic growth in Kenya.

Although Kenya’s economy enjoys the leading position in eastern and central Africa, 16.9% of its population lives below the poverty line. However, the solution to poverty in Kenya still needs long-term efforts. Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Yet, nearly half of the 50 million residents live below the poverty line. Two thirds of Kenyans do not have access to basic financial services such as bank accounts.

We heavily depend on foreign tourists but the amount of money made from Tourism in Kenya has been slowly falling as the main hard currency earner for Kenya according to reports from the Ministry of Tourism. Agriculture alone has the potential to contribute over 50 percent to our current gross domestic product (GDP).

In sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has one of the most developed power sectors and natural resources like: limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, oil, gas, gypsum, wildlife and hydropower. Our renewable energy resources, especially geothermal, wind, and solar are under-utilised and that’s why our GDP, revenue and earnings have been dropping steadily in billions since 2011 up to last year.

The cause of this drop in Kenya’s GDP can be pointed to a series of al Shabaab attacks (Westgate, Dusit, Garissa…) from neighbouring Somalia launched attacks on Kenyan soil in retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention. There’s also the issue of corruption, political unpredictability, post election violence and disputed election results.

Kenya is a developing country because it has less developed industrial base and also a generally lower human development index. It’s GDP when compared to other nations is lower too. Because of this, Kenya has potential for growth and has higher growth rate than already developed nations. Famous for its classic savanna safaris, Kenya is a country of dramatic extremes and classic contrasts. Deserts and alpine snows; forests and open plains; the metropolis of Nairobi and colourful tribal cultures; freshwater lakes and coral reefs. For many people, Kenya is East Africa in microcosm.

Agriculture is the main engine of economic growth in Kenya. It is the second largest contributor to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP), after the service sector. In 2005 agriculture, including forestry and fishing, accounted for about 24 percent of GDP, as well as for 18 percent of wage employment and 50 percent of revenue from exports.

In 2018, Kenya ranked 61st in the World Bank ease of doing business rating, up from 80th in 2017 (of 190 countries). Kenya ranked fifth wealthiest country in Africa. Kenya is among the top 10 wealthiest countries in Africa ranking at position 5 with US$104 billion. This is according to the latest instalment of the AfrAsia Bank Africa Wealth Report.

With regard to education ranking in the world, Kenya has been ranked the third most innovative country in Sub Saharan Africa according to the Global Innovative Index (GII) 2018. Kenya follows South Africa and Mauritius who are ranked first and second respectively.

Even if we manage to grow the economy, which is a big if, we still have to deal with more than 25 million people in Kenya who live below the poverty line… So where is all the money going? Corruption? Development? Who is to blame?