Yes, Kenya's future depends on fixing governance today

Youth during a past Gen Z protest in Mombasa. To transform Kenya’s youth bulge into a national asset, we must confront the governance conditions that threaten to squander it. [File, Standard]

Following my recent article on Kenya’s demographic window, several readers asked an important question. If we understand what must be done to convert the youth bulge into a national advantage, why has Kenya not done it? Two recent reports offer sobering insight.

They show our challenge is not lack of ideas. It is a governance environment that undermines investments required to secure our demographic dividend. The Kenya Inequality Report by Oxfam highlights a stark reality. Inequality in Kenya is not accidental. It is the product of policy choices that concentrate opportunity, impose regressive taxation, and limit upward mobility for millions.