The Kenya Government

Kenya's Central Government is structured through the Constitution. Wielding all administrative and policy-making powers, the Central Government consists of three branches: Executive, Parliament and Judiciary. These branches enact laws and policies that govern the country.

Since the Kenya government has restructured itself under a multiparty democracy, the country has seen increased successes economically, politically and socially. The 2002 elections marked a significant change in the government of Kenya.

Branches that make up Kenya's Central Government

Executive

Comprises the President, Vice president, the Attorney General and 30 cabinet ministers that assist in the Executive branch of Kenya's government.

Parliament

The Speaker of the house, the Deputy Speaker, 210 elected MPs and 12 nominated MPs, make up the Parliament

Judicial

The Chief Justice presides over the High Court of the Judicial branch, with other High Court Judges. These positions, as well as the judges of Kenya's Court of Appeals, are appointed by the president.

Achievements of the current Kenya Government

President Kibaki, then under National Rainbow Coalition party, took office in December 2002, following general elections that ended the Kenyan African National Union party's 39 year reign. Prior to December 2002, the Kenyan economy was performing poorly, with economic growth below 1 percent. Statistics across many areas were under par, such as low school enrollment, limited access to heath care and high unemployment levels. Several corruption charges against high-ranking officials lead to Kenya being ranked on the Transparency International's list of the world's most corrupt countries.

President Kibaki was elected on the ticket of the NARC, pledging to generate economic growth, improve and expand education, combat corruption, address heath care issues and rewrite Kenya's Constitution. Under President Kibaki, the government has done remarkably well to improve the living conditions of citizens. Some of the administration's achievements include:

Greater access to education - The government introduced free primary school education, making it accessible to all Kenyan children. Enrollment levels in the schools has increased greatly and even senior citizens can enroll to increase their literacy. One of Kenya's seniors, Mzee Kimani Maruge was officially the oldest person to begin primary school, at age 84 according to Guinness World Records.
Better and more accessible health care - The Kenyan government now provides free drugs for treatment and management of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). It has also improved the standard of health services in all public hospitals.

Economic growth. Kenya's economic growth has risen from below 1 percent in 2002 to 6.1 percent growth in 2006. The government is also making efforts to revive many local public industries that had collapsed or were on the verge of collapsing. These included Kenya Meat Commission and Rivatex Textile Mills.
Improved living conditions in rural areas - As a result of the government's rural electrification program, many rural areas are now supplied with electricity. The introduction of devolved funds like the constituency development funds (CDF) and local authority transfer funds (LATF) has led to improved rural road infrastructure and better social services. The government has also worked to provide clean piped water to many rural areas.

Provincial Administration

The Provincial Administration is a department of the central government that falls under the office of the President. The Provincial Administration system divides Kenya into eight administrative provinces: Coast, Eastern, Central, Nairobi, Rift-Valley, North-Eastern, Nyanza, and Western. Each province is sub-divided into districts, districts into divisions, and divisions into locations and sub-locations. A Provincial Commissioner heads the province and is appointed by the President. The District administrative head is the District Commissioner.

Kenyan laws establish four classes of local authorities: City, Municipal, Town and County Councils. The first three are all urban authorities, with county councils being rural. The local authorities are divided into several wards, depending on the population and geographical area. In the general elections held every five years, each ward elects one councilor to the local authority. The councilors then elect one of them as mayor (for the urban authorities) or chairperson (for county councils). Part of the revenue of the local authorities comes from local levies and local business licensing fees. The local authorities also receive allocations from the central government.

Extra Resources about Kenya

The symbols of nationhood: The flag and the National Anthem of Kenya

The Constitution of Kenya: What does it say? How does it govern the country and its citizens?

The population of Kenya