Hitting the reset button in US-Kenya relations

This weekend President Uhuru Kenyatta is playing host to the American President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. This high profile visit by Obama offers a chance for us to hit the reset button in terms of our two countries’ bilateral relations. It is no secret that the US government was not particularly thrilled that we elected two ICC indictees into the presidency. Since then a combination of the collapse of President Kenyatta’s case and realpolitik has ensured that the US does not completely throw the Kenyan administration under the bus in the name of international justice. The US needs Kenya’s cooperation in the war on terror in Somalia, as well as maintaining stability in the wider eastern African region. The Kenyan economy is also an attractive investment destination for US firms. To put it simply, the US and the EU need Kenya just as much as we need them.

Obama’s visit therefore offers a chance for the two countries to move even further in cementing the relationship. Key areas of cooperation that ought to be emphasised include trade and investment; support for civil society organisations; and reforms in the security sector. Let’s take each of these in turn.

Kenya ranks 96th in terms of US trading partners. Trade with the US accounts for a paltry 2 per cent of our GDP. This needs to change. Possible avenues through which we can increase trade volumes include cut flowers, textiles, coffee (direct exports), and business services. In addition, we are currently in the middle of a massive infrastructure investment drive, much of which is dominated by China and the African Development Bank. The government has also borrowed money from the bond markets at home and abroad. The ongoing and planned infrastructure investments offer opportunities for US companies to enter either as private investors or under public-private partnership (PPP) agreements. High priority projects that could benefit from American investment include power generation and distribution, water works, roads, railway lines, and pipelines. Lastly, no sector is currently as exciting as the tech sector. Kenya has positioned itself as the tech hub of the wider region and has been rewarded by massive investments from IBM, GE, Intel, Google and Microsoft. The government should learn from these first movers in order to make the country an even more attractive investment destination for American tech companies.

The United States has always been a staunch supporter of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Kenya. This is an important partnership that needs to continue. But it also needs to evolve. The current Constitution dispersed power while at the same time professionalising governance in Kenya. We have several key independent institutions that offer exciting opportunities for direct citizen engagement and action through CSOs. Unfortunately, our CSOs have not evolved to match the current institutional set up. Dealing with governance issues in the face of the constellation of the new institutions requires CSOs to cultivate a deep bench. The need for a deep bench is informed by the fact that after 2013 they have had to work with not just one national government, but 47 other governments in the counties. They need to morph from activists into think tanks. The folks working in political affairs at the US consulate therefore need to adapt to the new situation, and direct funds into creating civil society institutions that will match the government’s complexity. This is not to say that activism is dead, rather that it should be complemented with a robust set of think tanks that can do research and present credible alternatives to what our politicians – both in government and the opposition – have to offer.

CSOs can also lead in the fight against corruption by coming up with innovative ways to ensure that campaign finance does not lead to inefficiencies in the public sector. Instead of pretending that corruption is purely a law enforcement problem for the director of public prosecutions, we ought to address its political foundations.

Security remains to be a millstone around the Kenyan economy. The tourism sector along the Kenyan coast has virtually collapsed, leaving in its wake thousands of unemployed young people. This is why we should take the challenge of securing the country seriously. Here, America can assist on two fronts. First, it can ensure that the military stays professional both at home and abroad. The security agencies should not harass the very populations they are supposed to protect through ethnic profiling of Somalis. This has to stop. Second, American military cooperation should be founded on the principle of civilian control. The Generals should not run Kenya’s Somalia policy. This should be the preserve of our elected politicians.