Here is a quick and easy way to stimulate a lot of economic activity in Kenya without too much sweat. This should be free of political wrangling and would also not require major reforms within any of the three arms of government. What's this simple idea? Implementing a street address system for the entire country.
Having lived in the US for the last decade it is still hard at times to imagine that Kenya has no street addresses. If you wanted to visit my home outside Nakuru town you couldn't do it without an extensive amount of 'turn by turn' directions. I might even invoke a 'mugumo' tree or two to help. God forbid a new road was paved without my knowledge which is not all that unusual in the countryside. Then you would be really lost.Now imagine that an effective street naming system was implemented throughout the country. This would unlock as much economic activity as the arrival of cell phones and affordable motorcycles. What this would do is enhance the communications revolution that has happened thanks to cell phones and motorcycles(the latter aided by availability of micro loans). Basically, this would free up business owners' time by not having to deliver shipments themselves. It would also free up capital that would otherwise be used to purchase delivery vehicles. It also means that consumers would also be free to go about their business without wasting half their work day picking up pretty standard products like fertilizer in the case of farmers. All they would need to do is call up their supplier and have it delivered. Results, a lot of cost savings.
There is even more good news. Well, potentially. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this would be youth that we are always trying to elevate with never-ending funds that never seem to reach the intended beneficiaries. A lot of them already own motorcycles that they use to transport people. The 'boda boda' phenomenon. They would just add cargo to their list of services.
Kenyans have proven to be adept at adapting new technologies. Just look at the wildly successfull M-Pesa money transfer from Safaricom.These too would have have a similar effect as entrepreneurs everywhere rush to capitalize on new possibilities. So while we grapple with other more basic problems like water shortages, lets keep this on our agenda too. It could actually ease the delivery of said water.
