Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what country-specific direct support his Department is providing to Kenya to (a) support economic development and (b) strengthen democratic institutions in that country.

The DFID Kenya economic development portfolio comprises a range of programmes primarily focused on Trade, Agriculture, Urban Economic Development, Energy and Jobs. Specifically, these initiatives aim to support Kenya in:

1. Reducing the time taken and costs involved in trading within Kenya and across the region by improving the efficiency of transport infrastructure and strengthening the regulatory and policy environment for trade.
2. Developing fairer, better functioning, market systems in agriculture, livestock and water sectors.
3. Responding to high levels of urbanisation by helping municipalities in Kenya to plan better and attract investment into climate-resilient infrastructure and value chain projects.
4. Designing and testing the commercial viability of different Green Mini-Grid models developed and operated by the private sector in Kenya.
5. Fostering innovation and job creation through providing seed-financing and technical assistance to competitively selected businesses with the potential to create large scale jobs including for the youth, those working in the informal sector and hard-to-reach places and those living with disabilities.

In addition, the DFID Kenya Governance portfolio is working to help strengthen democratic institutions in Kenya through supporting:

1. The Independent Elections and Boundary Commission to prepare and manage fair, credible and peaceful elections.
2. A range of other independent institutions such as the Independent Police Oversight Authority, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
3. A range of civil society organisations working to better hold government to account in the areas of service delivery, police reform and public participation, as well as working with parliamentary committees, for example, the public accounts committees.

In line with the UK’s new approach to Africa, our work is helping to build a stronger, more modern partnership with Kenya.