Kenya has been recently referred to as ‘the new Singapore’ or the ‘Singapore of Africa’ owing to the ‘economic and political stability’ after last year’s elections.
In his article for Bloomberg, Tyler Cowen writes that Kenya’s future is promising because ‘economic and political forces are converging’ to put Kenya in a favorable position to become ‘the Singapore of Africa’. Kenya is being compared to Singapore for many reasons including the president’s proposed housing fund.
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After becoming independent in 1965, Singapore, a small island nation that was initially a British colony, is said to have prospered under Lee Kuan Yew. Under Lee’s leadership, the government proved effective, tackled corruption, and placed a higher priority on long-term social and economic planning. Lee created the Housing Development Board (HDB) to build houses for Singapore’s residents, particularly for the less fortunate, in order to address the problem of housing.
Singapore has also been recognized as one of the nations with the lowest levels of corruption. The country’s anti-corruption institution is transparent and strict in ensuring that there are no loopholes in the system. The systems in Singapore seem to be working for the citizens in the country. Although there are mandatory taxation measures put in place for the employed population in Singapore, the country boasts of a good number of employed citizens to tax.
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Kenya and Singapore could not be any more different considering the number of unemployed youth in the country and the massive cases of corruption. If Kenya is to become the ‘new Singapore’ there are several areas that need massive improvement for Kenya. In his article for the Standard on why Kenya can’t keep comparing itself to Singapore, Mike Nyagwoka highlights the need for eliminating tribal avenues in political seasons in order to get to Singapore’s stature.
