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The politics of scaling up social protection in Kenya

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  • Fredrick O. Wanyama
  • Anna McCord

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of Kenya’s political settlement in the adoption and promotion of social protection, which has expanded significantly since 2003. Analysis focuses on the interplay between the domestic political settlement and external factors in shaping the social protection discourse and policy and provisioning outcomes. Successive regimes in Kenya since 2003 supported social protection as part of their framing of the development discourse. There has been significant progress in developing the legislative and policy structures to support cash transfer provision, including a commitment in the 2010 constitution, together with an increasing fiscal commitment, largely donor supported, and a rapid expansion of cash transfer coverage. However, where the realisation of constitutional or legislative commitments would have a cost to the political settlement, disturbing clientelist relationships, less progress has taken place, as illustrated by the failure of the proposed National Social Health Insurance Fund. Implementation of social protection policy and provision has been managed in such a way that the clientelism at the centre of the political settlement is not disturbed. The extent to which the political settlement ultimately shapes social protection outcomes is also a function of the preferences and incentives of the donor community and it is the convergence of the requirements of the political settlement with donor interests that has driven the successful provision of social assistance, whereas the lack of convergence has hindered the development of social health insurance. Initially a donor-led agenda, cash transfer provision has become increasingly popular politically, as politicians have realised its potential as an additional constituency-level patronage resource, which they have successfully coopted in recent years, resulting in the paradox that improved, and largely externally financed, social protection performance is intrinsically linked to the entrenchment of the existing political settlement. The paper concludes that the social protection agenda in Kenya is defined by the extent of accommodation between the underlying clientelist interests of political actors and the aspirations of external actors.

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  • Fredrick O. Wanyama & Anna McCord, 2017. "The politics of scaling up social protection in Kenya," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-087-17, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-087-17
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Davis, Benjamin & Handa, Sudhanshu & Hypher, Nicola & Winder Rossi, Natalia & Winters, Paul & Yablon (ed.), 2016. "From Evidence to Action: The Story of Cash Transfers and Impact Evaluation in Sub Saharan Africa," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198769446.
    2. Racheal Njeri Mwaura & Edwin Barasa & G.N.V. Ramana & Jorge Coarasa & Khama Rogo, 2015. "The Path to Universal Health Coverage in Kenya," World Bank Publications - Reports 23485, The World Bank Group.
    3. Winnie Mwasiaji, 2015. "Scaling up Cash Transfer Programmes in Kenya," One Pager 286, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bender, Katja & Rohregger, Barbara & Kinuthia, Bethuel & Ikua, Grace & Schüring, Esther & Adamba, Clement & Alatinga, Kennedy A. & Pouw, Nicky, 2021. "Different pathways of social protection reforms: An analysis of long-term institutional change in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Museve Audrey (Мусеве О.Х.), 2021. "Institutional Reforms In Social Protection Of Older People In Kenya: The View Of Experts [Институциональные Реформы В Сфере Социальной Защиты Пожилых Людей В Кении: Взгляд Экспертов]," State and Municipal Management Scholar Notes, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 2, pages 264-269.
    3. Nicky Pouw & Katja Bender, 2022. "The Poverty Reduction Effect of Social Protection: The Pros and Cons of a Multidisciplinary Approach," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(5), pages 2204-2223, October.
    4. Barbara Rohregger & Katja Bender & Bethuel Kinuthia & Esther Schüring & Grace Ikua & Nicky Pouw, 2018. "The politics of implementation or why institutional interaction matters: The role of traditional authorities in delivering pro-poor social policies in Kenya," IZNE Working Paper Series 18/2, International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE), Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
    5. Katja Bender & Barbara Rohregger & Bethuel Kinuthia & Grace Ikua & Nicky Pouw & Esther Schüring, 2017. "Understanding multiple trajectories of extending social protection to the poor: An analysis of institutional change in Kenya," IZNE Working Paper Series 17/6, International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE), Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
    6. Njeri Chege & Stephen Ucembe, 2020. "Kenya’s Over-Reliance on Institutionalization as a Child Care and Child Protection Model: A Root-Cause Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Lavers, Tom & Hickey, Sam, 2021. "Alternative routes to the institutionalisation of social transfers in sub-Saharan Africa: Political survival strategies and transnational policy coalitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. Porisky, Alesha & Mohamed, Tahira Shariff & Muthui, Patrick Mutinda, 2023. "Kenya’s ‘Universal’ social pension: The politics of registration in Marsabit County," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).

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