The British colonial policy in Kenya, 1900-1960

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

The politics of development space: the state and NGOs in the delivery of basic services in Kenya

The centrality of the state in the development space of many Less Developed Countries (LDCs) has come under critical scrutiny because of its limited success in fostering adequate social, economic and political changes in the last three decades. Many blame the deepening development crisis and attendant decline in basic services on the inadequencies of the bloated state. The search for other institutional actors to supplement and/or compliment the raceding state services has focussed attention cn private non-governmental voluntary agencies (NGOs) This paper discusses both state and NGOs' roles and experiences in providing basic services. It concludes that the worldwide recession, domestic economic, and political problems, and general effects of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) have reduced the state's capacity to deliver-services. The result has been the intervention of NGOs. This intervention has been received with unease by the state, especially in recent years, due to what can be regarded as competition for legitimacy between the state and the sub-state ictors. The paper concludes that the state is likely to continue to be the senior partner in this competition

Multi-purpose district development centres: the case of Baringo development training centre (BDTC)

The paper first discusses the general notion of multi-purpose training centres with the intention of putting B.D.T.C. in historical context. A brief survey of some of the developmental aspects of Baringo district is then presented with the intention of putting B.D.T.C. in developmental context. A framework for analysing B.D.T.C. is then outlined. The underlying argument in the paper is that despite the shift in emphasis by the government from traditional community development centres to the notion of District Training Centres, the latter cannot perform a significant developmental role because of certain structural constraints which in most cases are likely to be district specific

The role of the informal sector in the development of small and intermediate size cities: the informal sector in Nakuru

The informal sector in Nakuru plays a significant role in the economy of the town by way of revenue generation to the Municipal Council and also by way of employment generation. However, the role of the informal sector, particularly with respect to employment generation, should not be over-estimated especially when we take into account the growth pattern of this sector. The growth pattern of the sector reflects horizontal expansion accompanied by little, if any, vertical growth. In spite of our misgivings with respect to the employment potential of the informal sector in Nakuru, we emphasize that there is a "social" role of the informal sector which is not always easy to quantify. Taking this into account, the sector perhaps plays a more important role than would seem at first glance

The role of informal sector in the development of small and intermediate-size cities: background information on Nakuru

Informal Sector studies in Kenya have mainly focussed on the Nairobi, the Primate City. However, the informal sector plays a significant role in the economic and social life of small and intermediate sized towns. Though by Kenya's standards, Nakuru is not a small town, it is so defined in this study for purposes of cross-national comparison. Background information on Nakuru shows that the town has a fairly heterogeneous population which has been growing at a fairly moderate rate compared to other towns in her size group. The economy of the town is showing signs of sophistication as it continues to grow at a "commendable rate". With respect to urban administration, the town seems to be well managed, at least financially