Financing Development at the grassroots: From Harambee to CDF

Show notes 

In this episode, Kamau Wairuri hosts Ken Opalo to discuss the financing of development at the grassroots in Kenya.  Ken is an Assistant Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University at Washington DC (USA).  See Ken’s Profile here.

They discuss the nature and impact of the Harambee System in the post-colonial period in Kenya. The opposition of parliamentarians to Harambee, which became very expensive for them, led the MPs in the 9th parliament to establish the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), through which 2.5% of the national budget would be allocated to the constituencies to finance development projects. They discuss how this fund is operating and what it tells us about how politics work in Kenya.

For any comments, questions, as well as guest and topic recommendations, please reach out to the host on email: Kamau.wairuri@outlook.com

Sources:

The discussion is based on Ken Opalo’s paper in the World Development, which can be accessed here (paywall): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X21004095

An earlier version of the paper (Working Paper) is freely available here: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2021-147-formalizing-clientelism-Kenya-Harambee-CDF.pdf