The country’s economic performance last year came under close scrutiny during the release of Data in the Economic Survey 2012 and was found wanting.

It is barely a month since President Kibaki painted a rosy picture of looming better life in his inaugural State of the Economy address, but a few days later, experts from various sectors assessed the progress on the promises, and concluded that the country is moving, but not fast enough.

Data in the Economic Survey 2012 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Planning yesterday shows that the economy slowed from 5.8 per cent to 4.4 per cent last year.

The shortfall is pronounced in nearly every sector of the economy. It resulted into weak job creation and a drop of growth in key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.

As a result, Kenya has slashed its 2012 economic growth projections to between 3.5 and 4.5 per cent from last month’s forecast of 5.2 per cent.

We do not know where President Kibaki got the rosy information conveyed to the nation during his State of the Nation speech, but since he is the Head of State and driver of Government affairs, our assumption is that those who wrote that particular speech were in touch with the ministry that released yesterday’s data.

Our question is: Are there any fundamental policy decisions, calamities or any other imaginable catastrophes that could have happened between the day of the president’s address and yesterday to substantially alter the rosy picture the Head of State portrayed to the nation?

We don’t see any from where we sit. What we see is a disjointed Government and agencies that are quickly losing focus of the wider picture.

During the period captured in the report, 503,500 jobs were created — a far cry from the projected 740,000, which is an indication that we are still pulling the tail as regards fulfilment of these demands.

The Tourism sector was as feeble as the others. The number of tourists, 1.6 million, was short of the expected 2.6 million.

The country is only months away from the General Elections. It will be the largest Kenya has ever conducted and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says it needs about Sh31 billion for the exercise.

The elections will usher in a devolved system of government where County Governments are expected to take charge. This in itself requires massive resources and both government and experts are yet to point exactly where Kenya will get the resources to sustain the new lifestyle.

headless chicken

If you add this to President Kibaki’s action of appointing 47 county commissioners, which are additional offices that will require extra resources to run, you get a perfect picture of a headless chicken that knows it has to run, but cannot tell in which direction.

The answer to all these is good governance. But when we talk about governance, we are not referring to anti-corruption efforts, but governance in general, which includes policy-making, the fiscal structure, supervision of state institutions and even risk  management in state institutions.

This is the only way to check the lacklustre attitude in Government and give proper direction to tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and Information and Communication, which are key pillars of Vision 2030.

It is unfortunate that all these sectors underperformed last year.

Their dismal performance means the country is also dragging on realisation of Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and those envisioned for 2030.

The report specifically recommends reducing the cost of energy in order to encourage manufacturers to increase investment and boost the sector, but those of you who are keen enough probably know that State utility — Kenya Power is about to present a fresh application for higher electricity tariffs to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

It does not help matters that last Monday, the price of petrol hit the Sh121 mark, a level last seen in December last year. This is despite the fact that crude oil prices have fallen in recent times and the shilling remains stable.

Generally, higher electricity and fuel prices will increase inflation and make life difficult for Kenyans.

While we urge the Government to do all in its power to reverse these negative economic trends, it is critical that they be counter-balanced by policies that will support growth.

Such policies should include investment in education to reduce inequality in human capital, investment in infrastructure to reduce unequal access to services and opportunities, and measures to reduce the cost of energy.