Living A Purposeful Life.

It has been said time and again that life is what you make it to be. However, we have to consider that at the end of it all, the choices and the decisions that we make often determine the direction that our lives are going to. In the quest to live a life full of purpose, certain fundamentals ought to be taken into account but these are from my own observations. Therefore, I consider them as the basics that are going to change the course of somebody's life:

• To start with, you've got to establish your main goal and objective on this planet. Living a purposeful life begins with you as an individual by putting down your main objective. Goals and objectives act as guides towards re-shaping and re-engineering our lives. Sticking to the various objectives that we have noted down helps us to be focused in life and thus at the end of the day we shall be able to attain meaning in our lives.
• Secondly, we need to cut out all the negativities that are present in our lives. We therefore have to replace these negativities with positivities. However negative the situation may seem to be, always seek to have a positive mind and you'll be surprised at how eventually the negative situations may positively turn to your favour.
• Most importantly, to live a purposeful life we need to review the list of those that we closely associate with. These associates, confidantes or friends in simple terms, will always determine the direction of our lives. Carry out an evaluation of your associates and make a decision of whether to continue furthering your relationship with them or to terminate it all together. To simply put it right, you associate with a failure and a loser, you'll end up being one and this the bitter truth. Try as much as possible to foster relations with individuals who will add value to your life. But we have to remember that we should also be close to those who seem to have veered off the way and try as much as possible to aid them to restore their lives.
• In finding purpose in our lives, we have to remember that our future is more important than the past. However, we need to note that the present is equally vital in helping us to have a brighter future. It does not matter where you have come from but where you are heading to is what will be used as a gauge to measure how effective you were in attaining your goals. Thus, we should cease living in the past and focus our energies on doing our very best at the present moment which will help in establishing a strong foundation for the future.
• We should take time to appreciate those who have assisted us in various ways whether materially or emotionally. Remember that making it through life is not all about the individual effort but also the efforts of  other well-wishers who strived to see that we live a fruitful life.
• Living a purposeful life demands that we have to drop the tag of laziness. Most people are lazy and they expect to change their lives to be completely different. This is a fallacy as living a purposeful life demands that we wake up from the slumber and push ourselves out of the comfort zone so as to achieve all the aspects of greatness that we have forever thought or dreamt about.
• Very effective and proper time management is a basic aspect in giving proof of whether we are leading a life that has purpose or we are simply going through life. We ought to have it in our minds that time is the most important resource that is freely disposable to any person and hence it all depends how best we make use of it. Living a purposeful life entails, therefore, that we should utilize efficiently the time that we have but it should be remembered that a rest is paramount for us to rejuvenate ourselves.  

It is my hope that we should be able to find purpose in our lives and this demands that we evaluate and assess all the aspects of our lives to know where we have come from, where we are and where we are heading to. Goodluck and have a purposeful life!

The 17 Principles of Success by Napoleon Hill.

As we begin the month of November, I have found it necessary to share with my esteemed readers this article from Napoleon Hill’s works in order to inspire and propel you towards greater heights of success and achievement. It is my sincere wish that it will act as an impetus for both the current and future successes of those who will spare time and read it.

Develop definiteness of purpose. Success and progress towards achieving your goals in life begin with knowing where you are going. Any dominating idea, plan or purpose held in your conscious mind through repeated effort and emotionalized by a burning desire for its realization is taken over by the subconscious and acted upon through whatever natural and logical means available. Your mental attitude gives power to everything you do. If your attitude is positive, your actions and thoughts further your ends. If your attitude is negative, you are constantly undermining your own efforts. The starting point of all human achievement is the development of a definite major purpose. Without a definite major purpose, you are as helpless as a ship without a compass.

Establish a mastermind alliance. This consists of two or more minds working together in perfect harmony towards a common definitive objective. Through a mastermind alliance you can appropriate and use the full strength and experience, training and knowledge of others just as if they were your own. No individual has ever achieved success without the help and cooperation of others. The value of gathering those of a like mind  is self-evident. A group of brains coordinated in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain, just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery.

Assemble an attractive personality. A positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude in any given situation. Courtesy is your most profitable asset…and it is absolutely free! Emotions are nothing but a reflection of your mental attitude, which you organize, guide and completely control. Your personality is your greatest asset or your greatest liability because it embraces everything you control…your mind, body and soul. To be happy, make someone else happy.

Use applied faith. Faith is awareness of, belief in, and harmonizing with the universal powers. Faith is a state of mind which must be active and not passive, to be useful in achieving lasting success. Close the door to fear behind you and you will quickly see the door of faith open before you. Fear is nothing more than a state of mind, which is subject to your own direction and control. Faith will not bring you what you desire, but it will show you the way to go after it yourself.

Go the extra mile. Strength and struggle go hand in hand. Render more and better service than what you are paid for and sooner or later you will receive compound interest from your investment. The end of the rainbow is at the end of the second mile. The quality of the service rendered, plus the quantity of service rendered, equals your compensation. The more you give, the more you get.

Control your attention. Keep your mind ON the things you want and OFF on the things you don’t want! It is much easier to focus your attention on something you believe will happen than on something you believe is unlikely. Controlled attention is the act of coordinating all the faculties of your mind and directing their combined power to a specific end. Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy your mind at the same time. Independence starts with self-dependence.

Inspire teamwork. There is no great contribution to civilization without the cooperation of others. Enthusiasm is contagious and teamwork is the inevitable result. A good football team relies more on harmonious coordination of effort than individual skill. Most people will respond more freely to a request than they will to an order. Helping others solve their problems will help you solve your own.

Learn from adversity and defeat. Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced. Failure and pain are one language through which nature speaks to every living creature. You are never a failure until you accept defeat as permanent and quit trying. Thomas Edison failed 10000 times before perfecting the electric light bulb. Don’t worry if you fail once. Every adversity, every failure, and every unpleasant experience carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit which may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Cultivate creative vision. Creative imagination has its base in the subconscious and is the medium through which you recognize new ideas and newly learned facts. Synthetic imagination springs from experience and reason; creative imagination springs from your commitment to your definite purpose. Imagination recognizes limitations. Creative imagination sees no limitations. Your imagination faculty will become weak through inaction. It can be revived through use. The man who dipped a chunk of ice cream in chocolate and called it “Eskimo Pie” made a fortune for five seconds of imagination it took to create the idea!

Maintain sound health. To maintain a positive mental attitude and develop a healthy mind and body, you must conquer fear and anxiety. Anything that affects your physical health also affects your mental health. A positive mental attitude is the most important quality for sound mental and physical health. Exercise produces both physical and mental buoyancy. It clears sluggishness and dullness from mind and body. If you haven’t the willpower to keep your physical body in repair, you lack the power of will to maintain a positive mental attitude in other important circumstances that control your life.

Budget your time and money. Tell me how you use your time and how you spend your money and I will tell you where and what you’ll be ten years from now. Take regular inventory of yourself to learn how and where you are spending your time and money. The secret of getting things done is: DO IT NOW! Time is too precious to be wasted on arguments and discontent. Some mistakes can be corrected, but not the mistake of wasting time. When time is gone, it is gone forever.

Use of cosmic habitforce. It takes a habit to replace a habit. All of your successes and failures are results of habits you have formed. The orderliness of the world of natural laws gives evidence that they are under control of a universal plan. For every result, there is a cause and results are brought about through the use of cosmic habitforce. First you get a habit, then it gets you.

Create personal initiative. It is better to act on a plan that is still weak than to delay acting at all. Procrastination is the archenemy of personal initiative. Personal initiative: is contagious, succeeds where others have failed, creates work, creates opportunity, creates the future, creates advancement. Procrastinators are experts at in creating alibis. Personal initiative is the inner power that starts all action.

Build a positive mental attitude. A positive mental attitude is the single most important principle of the science of success, without which you cannot get the maximum benefit from the other sixteen principles. Success attracts success and failure attracts more failure. Your mental attitude is the only thing over which you and only you have complete control. A positive mental attitude attracts opportunities for success, while a negative mental attitude repels opportunities and doesn’t even take advantage of them when they do come along. A positive mind finds a way it can be done… a negative mind looks for all the ways it can’t be done.

Control your enthusiasm. To be enthusiastic-act enthusiastically! Enthusiasm is to progress towards success, as gasoline is to a car’s engine. It is the fuel that drives things forward. Enthusiasm stimulates your subconscious mind. By feeding your conscious mind with enthusiasm, you impress upon your subconscious that your burning and your  plan for attaining it are certain. Enthusiasm is a state of mind. It inspires action and is the most contagious of all emotions. It is more powerful than logic, reason or rhetoric in getting your ideas across and in winning over others to your viewpoint.

Enforce self-discipline. Self-discipline is the process that ties together all your all your efforts of controlling your mind, your personal initiative, positive mental attitude and controlling your enthusiasm. Self-discipline makes you think before you act. The subconscious has access to all departments of the mind, but is not under the control of  any. If you don’t discipline yourself, you are sure to be disciplined by others. Without self-discipline, you are as dangerous as a car running downhill without brakes or steering wheel.

Think accurately. Thoughts have power, are under your control and can be used wisely or unwisely. Accurate thinkers accept no political, religious or other type of thought, regardless of its source, until it is carefully analyzed. Accurate thinkers are masters of their emotions. Accurate thought involves two fundamentals. First you must separate facts from information. Second you must separate facts into two classes; the important and unimportant. Accurate thinkers allow no one to do their thinking for them.

Goodluck as you create an atmosphere and environment that is success-oriented.

Contextualizing Kenya’s Agricultural Sector Development Strategy.

Over the years, the agricultural sector has been and continues to be the leading sector in Kenya’s economy. Several policies concerning and dealing with agriculture have been formulated in order to spur and accelerate growth in the sector. Some of the noticeable policies include the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture of 2004 and Vision 2030. The Agricultural Sector Development Strategy was formulated to cover the period 2010 to 2020.

The main objective of Vision 2030 is to push Kenya towards the attainment of the middle-income status by the citizens. In this particular working paper, the manufacturing sector is anticipated to be the leading sector. However, it is impossible to be able to set up a strong manufacturing industrial base if a strong foundation in agriculture is not going to be laid down. It should be noted that agriculture contributes directly 26% of the Gross Domestic Product and about 25% of GDP indirectly. It also accounts for 65% of Kenya’s total exports and more than 70% of employment opportunities in rural areas.

In striving to make strides towards enhancing and promoting efficiency in the agricultural sector, the government of the day and the would be successive governments need to pay attention to certain fundamental aspects without which such efforts would only remain as a mirage. The starting point to accelerate performance in this sector is by ensuring that budgetary allocation for the sector is increased not marginally but substantially. Kenya’s allocation to the agricultural sector in the national budget can be termed as meager considering that the total allocation for the sector is way below 10% of the total national budget.

Our previous governments and the current government ought to peg allocations to the sector on the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security of 2003 formulated under the auspices of the African Union. This declaration sought to compel the African governments and administrations to at least have 10% of the total national budget going towards the agricultural sector. It thus remains imperative that a substantial allocation of funds towards agriculture will lead to immense growth of the sector.

To establish or to create an enormous manufacturing sector in Kenya, it is vital to develop agro-based industries in which the latter will act as a strong base for the establishment of the former. With the presence of the agro-based industries, other related modern industries will automatically develop through forward and backward linkages and hence bringing to real existence of the modern manufacturing industries.

Another fundamental aspect in ensuring efficiency in the sector is to enhance effective training, research and development programmes. This can be done by developing the existing agricultural institutions by ensuring the curricula and programmes offered are up to date and the usage of the latest but appropriate technology in training the manpower. These days, some regions hardly have the field officers attending to the needs of the farmers. This situation has created a gap that has consequently led to low production and poor quality products.

In addition, genetically modified and engineered organisms need to be introduced if we are yearning to increase our levels of production and to boost our food security. However, this should be strictly on the crops and not on the animals. Genetically modified crops mature faster and their yields are also high and from my own viewpoint, this would initiate better food security, high surplus which will lead to increased exports. It should be noted that the introduction of such crops is subject to a sober and mature debate.

Most importantly, injecting efficiency in the agricultural state corporations is a key aspect towards the realization of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and the overall improvement of the sector. Most of these problems have been affected by the maladministration syndrome which has caused most of them to be run-down. A general and thorough audit of these firms needs to be carried out to determine the various strategies to be executed in order to ensure they have par performance in their operations.

To increase the market surplus, the small holder farmers need to access agricultural credit very easily and cheaply. Banks and other financial institutions need to reduce their conditionalities on loans and other inputs that they offer to the farmers. This will increase the capital base of the farmers and with proper management contribute towards high yields. A lot of emphasis should be laid on the small scale or small holder farmers as they form the largest bulk of farmers nationwide.

Furthermore, reducing reliance on rain-fed agriculture is another vital aspect which this working paper seeks to deal with. This has an implication that a lot of irrigation needs to be done. The present government has made a significant step towards allocating some funds towards several irrigation projects notably the A Million Acre Scheme in order to increases the yields and promote food security. However, the government needs to be at the fore-front in ensuring that the aquifers in Turkana County are drilled so that water for irrigation is easily available. Also other arid and semi-arid lands(ASALs) should also be effectively utilized in agricultural terms through the practical use of technology and irrigation.

In conclusion, the bottomline for actualization of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy remains increasing  the budgetary allocation towards the sector. Without having enough finances, then realizing all the other strategies put in place to improve the sector would remain all but a dream.

The Africa Renaissance; A Far-Fetched Dream

The dawn of the 21^st century and the first decade of the Millenium Period were touted as the period of time in which Africa was to strongly emerge as a new frontier for socio-economic development in the entire world. Quite a number of gains have been realized considering that recent economic growth for the continent stands at an average of 5% per annum. However, the realization of the African Dream is still far-fetched with regards to the various challenges and threats which continue to eclipse Africa.

The clamour for independence period in the late 1950s, 1960s and even 1970s ushered an era of hope with the independence leaders charting a clear path which their respective countries had to follow in order to make socio-political and socio-economic gains. Albeit a lot of optimism at independence, social, political and economic successes have been a pipe-dream.

We as Africans ought to realize that our fate and destiny as a continent is in our own hands. We’ve got the resources, but this is not commensurate with our development pace. This lack of commensurism begs a very simple question: where did the rain start beating us? Well, certain problems, majority of which are self-inflicted, have over the years dragged Africa behind. I have therefore encapsulated a good number of threats which have hand-cuffed Africa as a continent.

To begin with, nearly all countries in Africa are in dire need of good and effective governance. It’s not a surmise for me to opine that poor governance has subjugated us for so many decades. The hard fact is that the poor governance which has haunted us is self-inflicted.i.e. it has been propagated by ourselves  especially by our political leaders. Under the governance spectrum, three key issues need to be focused on. These issues are rampant corruption, weak institutions and poor leadership.

Corruption in Africa remains a major bottleneck as it stifles any form of progress. Sad enough, the corruption juggernaut has haunted Africa mark you since the time most African countries attained independence. This is a big shame and embarrassment to us because it depicts a clear lack of dire commitment to rise up and have a firm moral standing that is uncompromising. Through corruption, a lot of resources are channeled in the wrong direction and this often jeopardizes on the progress made. If the various African governments are not going to fight zealously against graft then we ought to forget about socio-economic and socio-political development.

Weak institutions across the African continent are also a feature of our governance systems and structures. Most nations in Africa establish several governance institutions but which are not strong enough.  Institutions such as anti-corruption institutions, security institutions,  administrative institutions and others need to be strengthened so as to be able to effectively carry out their mandate and other designated obligations. Therefore, to keep the African Dream on course, having strong governance institutions is inevitable.

Most importantly, our leadership in Africa is wanting. It is thus not a conjecture to explicitly state that our governance ails from poor leadership. It should be noted that good and effective governance is a function of good and strong leadership. We have had many development plans designed by most African governments but rarely have they been actualized. It is due to poor and wanting leadership that problems we are dealing with currently are similar to the ones we encountered at the era of independence as a continent. We gave democracy a try but unfortunately we still oscillate at the same point. The African people need to realize that they are the government and power belongs to the citizenry and this therefore necessitates the people to demand very high levels of transparency and accountability from their elected representatives.

Away from the issue on governance, an extensive threat to realization of the African Dream is food insecurity. Being food secure as a continent will catapult a more than automatic socio-economic development. Food security implies that we shall have reduced levels of malnutrition hence a healthier population, a surplus production thus boosting our export volumes, a significant reduction on the reliance on donors, establishment of related industries and most importantly creation of employment opportunities. The African governments need to come up with effective plans of action on agriculture that are elaborate.

In addition to the above threats and challenges on the renaissance of Africa, volatile political environments and insecurity continue to make the African Dream seem further. In our beloved continent, we have so many militia groups and more recently some terror groups. These groups are present in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda just to name but a few. It is common sense that run-away insecurity jeopardizes on economic progress as potential investors are scared away. The governments need to do more to combat such cases of insecurity. A spot-check across some African countries shows that leaders are taking matters insecurity to be business as usual. Personally, I believe that groups such as the Boko Haram, the Lord’s Resistance Army,Al Shabaab etc could have been grounded as soon as they sprang if the leaders had been pro-active and also had they used a not-so-business-as-usual approach. Therefore, for Africa to enjoy massive investment in various sectors, fixing and tackling the insecurity menace is a must.

In conclusion, I believe that if Africa collectively improves on the areas of governance, food security and most importantly general security then definitely the 21^st century will be the era of the African Renaissance. If these issues are fixed effectively, then positive change shall be witnessed in various areas and other key sectors. It is thus upon us as Africans to decide which way to go and which path to follow in our quest to actualize the African Dream.

 

Re-thinking Kenya's Economic Growth and Development Trajectory

 

It is quite disturbing to witness the harsh reality that most of the problems we face today as a nation are not in any way different from those we encountered 51 years ago at the dawn of independence. This reaffirms the fact that we need to re-look, re-think, re-structure and even re-position the various policies and institutions mainly established to drive the economic growth and development agenda.

Methinks that we have failed to inculcate a leadership-driven economic growth and development ethic in our so-called political leaders. The Kenyan political arena is in dire need of leadership if we have to draw parallels between Kenya and some Asian economic powerhouses. For instance, 50 years ago, Kenya’s per capita income was at $440 while Singapore’s stood at $180. Today, our per capita income is $1800 compared to Singapore’s $59800.

 

The poor leadership exhibited by our politicians is aggravated and driven by too much politicking. Political leaders are busy consolidating their political power at the expense of actualizing the various development agenda put forth and outlined in their manifestos. Too much politicking shall NEVER aid Kenya to move forward in economic terms. Therefore, the presidency is supposed to initiate astute leadership with which other political leaders will embrace.

Our country’s economic growth and development agenda has been hard-hit and greatly paralysed by the monster called corruption. The failure to combat corruption in full swing points out to the failure of leadership to accentuate zero tolerance against graft. As long as corruption is not tackled, we shall forever oscillate at the same point and attaining our economic goals will remain a mirage. Leaders, led by the President should wake up and fight zealously against corruption.

Furthermore, 51 years after gaining our independence, our exports are majorly primary goods. Personally, I hate it when people say that Kenya is not yet at the level of exporting processed products. I bet that 50 years + 1of independence should witness an era whereby value addition on our exports is inevitable. So how did China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand etc start exporting manufactured goods? These countries offer several paradigms which Kenya can study and come up with its own unique model that will enable Kenya export highly valued commodities.

 Tangible economic growth and development should be forgotten as long as we are still a food insecure nation. The perennial hunger and famine strikes need to be dealt with once and for all. How can you expect Kenya to develop in toto when a good number of Kenyans are not assured of food? Hunger and famine incidences have over the years drained huge amounts of capital which could otherwise have been injected to other sectors of the economy. Therefore, to avoid economic mark-timing, food security is paramount

Nevertheless, as a nation, the various development plans need to be thoroughly scrutinized. Personally, I admit that Vision 2030 shall never be achieved. Hence, it will be prudent if we come up with either a 5 year or a 10 year strategic development plan(s) which are clearly outlined and highly effective so that we are constantly on track to realize a proper and well choreographed economic transformation.

In conclusion, Kenya is full of insanity as we always do things the same way then we expect different results. Thus, too much politicking and a less visionary leadership shall never grant us the results that we always desire to get. It is time to change the way we do things by adopting and adapting different approaches and methods 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Impeachment Foolhardy:MCAs vs Governors

It is with no doubt that when the Constitution was promulgated in August 27^th 2010 it signified a new era of hope especially with regards to devolution.

Initially,when the New Constitution was being drafted,the various stakeholders concerned had clearly set out the academic threshold for one to be a Member of County Assembly.Unfortunately,or fortunately,depending on how you view it , the purpoted academic qualifications were watered down and even done away with.

As a matter of fact, this is now proving to be futile if the wave of initiating and executing impeachments is anything to go by.A spotcheck across Embu,Kericho,Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet counties speaks volume about this.

The first fundamental question that I pose is:Are these MCAs ‘infatuated’ with power? Absolutely yes.I tend to think that giving so much power to uneducated and semi-educated leaders is indeed socio-economic development in jeopardy.To make matters worse, majority of the MCAs do not even understand the Stranding Orders.It is high time the electorate vote in MCAs who have at least a tertiary level of education which goes a long way in aiding to have prioritized debates in the various County Assemblies.

The second fundamental question that I ask is:How about Governors and their executives who misuse funds? Well, corruption has been a juggernaut in Kenya since independence.If a county govt department has been hit by corruption , the executive member in charge should be held responsible.This is because impeaching a Governor would have a severe implication on nearly every  aspect and functioning of the county govt.Imagine if the MPs could be executing impeachments against the President,one after another? Therefore, it calls for tolerance  to abandon the impeachment gimmicks and nurse the newly born county govts.

My point of view is that the MCAs should blow the whistle, gather the evidence, inform the necessary authorities and let the law courts do their work.In addition, the MCAs  should prioritise their debates and should engage constructively to benefit the citizenry and MUST abandon the ancient politics of witchhunting.

SITATI WASILWA.

Kenya's Scorecard On Attaining The Milleniun Development Goals(MDGs);Part 1.

The MDGs are to be attained by the year 2015 as outlined in the Millenium Declaration in the year 2000 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Kenya as a country did also participate in this Declaration and as usual committed herself to achieve the highlighted objectives. As a country, we have made great strides in attaining the MDGs. However, due to various externalities and poor governance, the attainment of some MDGs still remains a mirage.
On the first MDG, i.e. to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, the past governments and the government of the day have faired on poorly to attain this goal. Year in year out, the ASAL regions are usually affected by widespread hunger which has often led to malnourishment and death. The perennial hunger problem is arguably used as bait by politicians to gain political mileage at the expense of our fellow Kenyans.Irrigation initiative programmes if not backed by effective political goodwill will remain redundant and the cycle will continue.However,the recent launch of the A Million Acre Scheme by President Kenyatta is a good move towards eradication of hunger.On poverty,we are not doing well either.Recent World Bank statistics point out that 45.9% of Kenyans are living below the poverty line.This is contrary to the 25% which is to attained by 2015 according to the MDG.This clearly indicates that the gap between the rich and the poor is very wide.Score:3/10.
As a country,we have done well in terms of achieving universal primary education which is the second MDG.I give much credit to our ex-President Mwai Kibaki whose brain child,the Free Primary Education(FPE)  programme has really been an impetus towards achieving this goal.However,the various bottlenecks under this include insufficient human capital(teachers),and shortage of basic facilities and equipments such as books,good classrooms etc.The successive govts should thus ensure the enlisted challenges among others are addressed to the latter.Score:7.5/10.
The third MDG is to promote gender equality and empower women.As a nation,we have so far performed above average in terms of reduction of gender disparity at primary,secondary and tertiary levels of education.More so,the ratio of literate females to males has really improved.This has been effectively backed by the Constitution Chapter 4,Article 27 and Clause 3.With this comes the famous 1/3 gender rule.Coupled with the above,there has also been a significant increase in the number of seats held by women in Parliament at the national and county levels.This has again been guarded by the Constitution which created 47 positions of Women Representatives to represent all counties.Also a good number of women have been elected and nominated to Parliament.However,we are still yet to see an elected woman Senator and Governor.Score:6.5/10.
The other MDG is the reduction  of child mortality rate(CMR).This is an area we are doing badly.In East Africa,we are only better than Burundi whose CMR is at 104/1000 compared to Kenya's 73/1000 according to UNICEF September 2013 report.Uganda's CMR is at 69/1000,Rwanda 55/1000 and Tanzania 54/1000.However,this is a reduction from 115/1000in 2003 according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.This high CMR implies that children dying under 5 years is due to diseases such as pneumonia,malaria and diarrhoea especially in the marginalised areas and regions.The Ministry of Health,to be specific,has a lot to do to lower this rate.Score:3.5/10.
MDG 5 is concerned with the improvement in maternal health.Kenya's Maternal Mortality Rate(MMR) by 2003(KDHS), was at 414/100000.The year 2010,our MMR was at 488 deaths / 100000 livebirths.However,the move taken by the Jubilee Govt to offer free maternal healthcare is a positive move that demographic experts have already noted that it will significantly reduce the MMR.The rural folks however,still find it quite challenging because of poor roads to access the health centres and also living far away from such health facilities.This thus calls for improvement in the state of the rural access roads and also the establishment of health centres in each ward countrywide.This is in fact attainable since the health services have been devolved to the county govts as enshrined in the Constitution under the Fourth Schedule on the Distribution of Functions between The National and County Govts Part 2 of the County Govt s.