The big 4 vs the SDGs
As people living in this world enjoying its providence we should do it with the knowledge that we got the resources we source free of charge and make sure as we strive to make it we do it considering that the people who are to come after us have a right to the same facilities. So in all, we do we should do it in a sustainable manner, therefore, the development of the SGDs.
SDGs
Sustainable development goals (SDGs) aka global goals are a call to action to solve most of the world problems. these range from poverty, environmental degradation to living in peace.
Currently there are 17 goals set out which were developed from success of the previous Millennium Development Goals which were set to be achieved by the year 2015 in all of the 191 UN countries.
The currents SDG’s are meant to be achieved by the year 2030, they also have a vision for the provision of clear guidelines on how to make sure that the right choices are made and push for improving life in a sustainable way to ensure continuity for future generations.
The environment is both an intrageneration and intergeneration resource therefor each generation is mandated with the task to protect for the next generation, for its a scares resource. The SDGs came to life from Jan 2006 and meant to be delivered following the UNDP guidelines MAPS and resource funding to ensure that the goals are part of the people’s way of thinking.
The big 4
These are the current president’s, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta legacy projects which are aimed to be completed by the end of his term in office that been the year 2022. They are focused on improving the national GDP of the country by having many more sources for the GDP and other contributing facilities aimed at improving the social living of the persons themselves. The big 4 are meant to work in correspondence with the SDGs ensuring that the country is also on the right pathway for sustainability.
Having the right framework and person is working on the various goals will ensure that Kenya is not only a sustainable economy but also working towards the agenda 2030.
So what are the big4 :
Enhancing Manufacturing
The government aims to increase the manufacturing contribution to the GDP from 9.2% to 20%. This is to be achieved by providing incentives to local manufactures by making the legislative process easier and promoting the locally manufactures products.
For example, in the past 5 years Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) has approved over 1638 projects whose value is close to Ksh 500 million with more than a 3rd of these been manufacturing of food products.
Food Security and Nutrition
The agricultural sector contributes approximately 30% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually, however, Kenya is classified as a food deficit country. In the big 4 agenda, it aims at ensuring 100% food security ensuring freedom from hunger. Currently the government aims at producing 2.76 million bags of maize by the end of this year alone.
Universal Health Coverage
This is meant to be achieved by scaling up the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) uptake from 15 million to 25 million in this year. Missions like these combined with campaigns like the beyond zero campaign make it a probable goal.
Affordable Housing
The current government aims at providing 500,000 new and affordable homes for its residents. this is to improve the livelihoods of the persons who will benefit from the project leading to slum upgrading projects also coming to life. This project can be seen in the current phase of 30,000 units in Eastlands starting to take shape.
For more information on the big four, you can get the pdf here.
So how do the SDGs come into play???
With data from the SDGs repository with can see various trends in the various economies hence getting a clear picture of what really plays part in the growth of any economy. With data, we are able to get an in-depth look at what affects development, economic GDP and GDP per capita. With the hope of attaining economic development, which is seeking to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community by creating and/or retaining jobs and supporting or growing incomes and the tax base, data can assist in checking where were had critical issues and how to sort them out and also make sure we have the right baselines for correct predictions for future plans.
The world economy
Data from the SDGs tries to formulate an average of the economies of the countries which participate in the sustainable development plan.
From the trends, we can see the effects of the 2008 economic recession on general GDP growth of the world and Kenya as a nation.As for Kenya, we were worse off for we had had the effects of the post-election violence after the 2007 general elections. This was then followed by a gradual growth in the economy with an expected dip after the 2017 general elections.
Electricity access
With the hope of Kenya been an industrial nation the access to electricity for the manufacturing companies is a key aspect of product production and not just access but the right quantities too.
The graphs below the percentage growth of the population with access to electricity for the given period. Kenya been a developing economy we have most of the population in the cities and major towns hence easy access to electricity.
As for the rural areas with the push for decentralization we have seen the rise in the number of people getting access to electricity.
The sudden spike in the population in the rural area having access is from the recent projects such as last mile connectivity. From the graphs we can see in comparison to the world the access penetration is not there yet but with the running projects still going on, we expect a continuous growth.
Employment of persons
Kenya relies greatly on agriculture as a source of GDP and hence lead to a high number of persons who are employed by the industry, pushing for food security increases the need for more workers in the sector to ensure the set targets will be achieved by giving the country 100% food security.
Currently we have a reduction in the employment in this sector this is from the accessibility of machinery by the farmers and more people moving to the service industry.
But from the set goals by the big 4 there is hope for more employment opportunities for the citizens and as a plus to this increasing the GDP for all. With this in mind, we expect there to be a rise in the trend for the agriculture employment.
As part of the pillars for the big 4 there is an urgency to in crease the manufacturing in the country. The only way we can push for the increase in GDP contribution from the industries to move from 9.2% to 20% is by having platforms which will encourage both local and international investors to set up shop here. Hopefully making Kenya the “industrial hotbed of Africa”.
Employment has been on a general rise within the given period, but we expect to see a greater rise with the current manufacturing agenda that is planed by the current government.
Mortality deaths
Looking at Kenya currently, there has been a great job done in the reduction of the mortality rate of each 1000 births pushing for beyond zero campaigns which are inclusive for the survival of the mother too.
Data collected from the SDGs repository we are able to clearly see this been replicated across all the nations and also the region.
This may be attributed to advancements in medicine and also better medical care and access to health facilities in general. With one of the main pillars of the Big 4 is an increase in the uptake of the NHIF card this will work a long way in making sure that the living of the citizens will be wholesome.
Conclusion
From the analysis of the data from the SDGs repository we are able to see trends and make a correlation to the big 4 agenda by the current Govt. From the data we can get there is a consistent growth and hopefully bringing positive attributes of the economy and also showing us the areas of focus are justified, in an aim of giving each person a wholesome growth from the basic facilities like food and housing to economic growth by provision of employment from the various emerging industries. The analysis shows that the achievement of these goals is highly probable, but we need to sort out issues like the current corruption scandals that we are facing as a country and push for accountability.
