Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. Has this tiny post-Soviet nation found the way of the future? The Elephant in conversation with Kadri Humal Ayal, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Kenya.
Kenya’s agro-economy accounts for about 24 per cent of GDP and 74 per cent of employment (GoK, 2008). It is a key sector in the economic pillar of the Kenya Vision 2030 and one whose functions have been devolved by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. On 4th March 2013, the devolved government transferred much of the at least 10 separate sub-sectors to county governments. These are crops (both industrial and food), horticulture, livestock, fisheries, land, water, cooperatives and marketing, environment and natural resources, regional development, and development of arid and semi-arid land (ASAL). 9 years later can we take stock...
Kenyan youth are not to blame for their election apathy. For decades, elections have hardly made a difference in curbing violent plunder by Kenya’s ruling class. The youth are wondering whether this would be any different. The Elephant in conversation with Dr Alex Awiti, Associate Professor and Vice Provost - Aga Khan University, East Africa.
In this conversation, we talk about tax justice and the 15% minimum corporate tax proposal by the G7. What is it about, why is it important for Africa and what can we do? Crystal Simeoni, Director at NAWI, in conversation with Chenai Mukumba, Policy Research and Advocacy Manager at the Tax Justice Network Africa.
When in 2013, young men started taking over mosques in coastal Kenya, it produced two sets of narratives; one, the youth were extremists, and two, the youths were reformists. The extremism narrative framing has created a set of policy responses that have exacerbated the problem. The Elephant in conversation with Dr Hawa Noor M., a scholar, and peace and security commentator based in East Africa and Germany.
Make Isiolo the capital city. Besides being geographically central, the town has space for expansion and that would open up the north to commerce and settlement. It is the best chance to reduce the pressure on land along the Northern Transport Corridor, opening the region up to rapid investment and helping to fully utilise the new Lapsset corridor. The Elephant in conversation with Darius Okolla, an economist, writer and curator at The Elephant.
The mushrooming of community radio stations and citizen journalism in Northern Kenya provides a far more nuanced and complex view of the lives in Northern Kenya, thus, providing an alternative framing. Since they use the indigenous language, community radios have emerged as the most reliable sources of information about the region. The Elephant in conversation with Yusuf Ibrahim, a strategic communications consultant.
Place, Identity and National Imagination in Post-Katiba Kenya explores the ever-present issue of Kenyan identity from a spatial perspective and focuses on the implications of Northern Kenya as a site of negotiating and re-imagining new possibilities for project Kenya. The Elephant in conversation with Abdullahi Boru, Senior Analyst and Northern Kenya curator for The Elephant.
The fuel shortage has returned to haunt motorists as uncertainties over the State-backed subsidy ahead of the monthly review of pump prices persist. Beyond the rhetoric, Kwame Owino, explains what is ailing Kenya's petroleum sector. The Elephant in conversation with Kwame Owino, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), a Nairobi-based think tank.
Garret Hardin’s ‘tragedy of the commons’ thesis published in 1968, became a ‘'masterpiece" upon which environmental and development policies were formulated in the 1970s and 1980s. Pastoralist groups were on the receiving end of some of the policies, including discarding indigenous environmental methods. The Ekwar System in Turkana is seen as optimal for taking care of the trees in Turkana. The Elephant in conversation with Joseph Kalapata, a manager at the Forum for Protection of Pastoralist Development.
On the 24 of March, Ethiopia’s government announced an immediate humanitarian truce with forces it had been fighting for 17 months in the northern Tigray region. Can the truce open a window into unlocking the conflict, or is it another lull before the war breaks out again? The Elephant in conversation with Adisalem Desta, an expert in international law.
There are multiple causes and forms of conflict in Northern Kenya. In most conflicts, women are disproportionately affected. The national and county governments should work with non-state actors, to leverage the formal and nonformal indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms. In this conversation, Abdia Mahmud provides nuances and insights into conflicts in Northern Kenya. Abdia Mohamud is the Executive Director at Isiolo Peace Link, a community-based network that brings together youth, women, faith-based and other civil society organisations and works closely with the county authorities and law enforcement agencies on security issues.
