You're right, but major problem is that the government doesn't view national level economics in a brilliant manner like you are pointing out. Just recently they allowed the importation of GMO maize...what do you make of that.

I think it was in another thread where I mentioned that it's enough to have one huge industry as a country and given good management, that industry can turn around the country tremendously into a middle income state. However, a lot of governments initiative need to be realigned to support that industry.

When we say "industry" we don't mean "company", its the entire ecosystem that leads to the production of the given products or services -an industry will give birth to companies.

Thanks to the former regime, we are now an ecomony driven by SMEs and brokerage services.

A website...

and the story probably ends there.

3 Trillion is on the lower side in my opinion, if the entire economy was recorded, I think the correct number should be Usd 75-100 billion.

As to what drives our economy, its got to be internal production and consumption (jua kali, private schools universities and hospitals), unlike the celebrated african economies like Angola and Co. that get favourable press because they spend their petro dollars overseas, ours is a very mature self sufficient economy that feeds on itself.
Here's an example, i recently chatted up an executive of a fast rising financial intitution who told me they were looking at growing their big loan book by a large margin, when I asked him where he would get the customers yet the larger banks BBK, KCB Stanchart had already locked in the major corporates, he smiled and told me that the big money is now in real estate developers who are now borrowing large loans unlike the mature manufacturing companies.

There are other factors that spur our growth, example diaspora remittances and the service industry.

Do you know that the middle stages 3 main rivers in Kenya are in the Country's driest places. What a waste.

The government of Kenya started irrigation projects in Isiolo District (Now County) in a place called Malkadaka and Gafarsa. Agronomy thrived there since the Ewaso Ng'iro River passes there (less than 750m). When the farms were transfered back to the locals (Boranas) all steel farming equipments were converted to knives and machetes. To them, agronomy is slavery and tiring, they would rather have camels, cows and shoats, than farm!

Marsabit town and Walda in Moyale are classic examples of places where water was in plenty until the 90's when the Boranas decided livestock keeping was less weary. This lead to overstocking and deforestation. As we speak now, Marsabit town depend on a borehole 75km away in Logologo.

We should not be too fast to blame the central government and its parastatals yet 'our' STUPID cultures are the ones driven us backward!