A wealthy and morally corrupt future for Kenya

A new report to be officially unveiled today indicates that the young and corruptible electorate could undermine democracy by limiting candidates without significant financial resources from competing for votes

A large percentage of the Kenyan youth believe that the future of the country will be marred with corruption, poorer moral ethics and values and increased substance abuse, according to a survey by the East African Institute of the Aga Khan University.

 The survey sampled about 1,854 respondents aged between 18 and 35 to find out the aspirations, attitudes, concerns and values of the youth in Kenya today. Of this population, 77 per cent believe that Kenya will be richer materially, with better access to quality education and health, and more jobs for youth, 40 per cent believe there will be more corruption, and 30 per cent believe the country will be poorer in ethics and values, and experience more substance abuse.

 According to Alex Awiti, the director of the institute, they selected the youth because they are the ones who will determine the future of Kenya.

“Nearly 80 per cent of the population is aged below 35 years. This population is also the best educated in the history of this country, with about 80 per cent having post primary school education. The future of this country, especially the actualisation of our national vision, depends on the hopes and aspirations of the youth,” he said.

The survey was done in August 2014 for 12 weeks, and followed by a series of validation workshops with youth from different urban and rural areas and across social economic classes.

Pope Francis addresses the youth at Safaricom Stadium Kasarani.

“About 1,860 respondents were randomly selected from all regions of Kenya, using the national population and housing census framework. The distribution of urban and rural was 65 per cent and 35 per cent approximate to the distribution of rural and urban populations in Kenya according to the 2009 census data,” Awiti adds.

One of the interesting findings in the survey is that there is a crisis of integrity amongst the youth. According to the report, 50 per cent of the youth believe that it doesn’t matter how one makes money as long as one does not end up in jail, while 47 per cent admire those who hook or crook (including hustling). Only 40 per cent believe that it is important to pay taxes.

When it comes to corruption, 30 per cent of the youth believe graft is profitable and a further 35 per cent would readily give or take a bribe. This is also connected to the level at which the youth react to politics and electoral bribery, with 40 per cent saying that they would only vote for a candidate who bribed them with the rural males twice as likely and the females 40 per cent to do this as compared to their urban counterparts.

In terms of education, this is Kenya’s best-educated generation, with 22 per cent having only primary education as the highest level of education; 78 per cent attaining post secondary education, with 39 per cent having attended high school, 27 per cent with post secondary training and 11.6 per cent had university level of education. This in an increase considering that only 34 per cent of youth had post secondary education as per the 2009 census data.

“The data reveals that this is the most educated demographic today. This signals that we could be on track to transition to a knowledge economy. However, the economy is not generating sufficient jobs. The high rates of unemployment among the youth needs urgent attention from both government and private sector,” says Awiti.

Awiti notes that the youth would love the government to address the issues of unemployment at 63 per cent, access to capital at 11 per cent, lack of business opportunities at nine per cent and discrimination and non-recognition at 4.7 per cent. The onus is on the government to address this as 65 per cent of the youth trust the government and 56 per cent are aware of the government initiatives, although 76 per cent have not benefited from these initiatives.

The question of ethnicity was also raised and it was revealed that older youth between 30-35 hold stronger ethnic identities. However, ethnicity is the least important dimension of identity among their younger counterparts, with 40 per cent identifying as Kenyans first, 35 per cent as youth first. A further 12 per cent identified by their faith and less than five per cent identify by their ethnicity first. The report shows that less than one per cent identify as East African.

The youth leave Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi after they were addressed by Pope Francis on Movember 27, 2015

“The report reveals that a non-ethnically fractured country is possible and strong national identity may eclipse other dimensions of identity,” says Awiti.

One of the targets of the survey was to find out what the Kenyan youth value, with faith coming in first at 85 per cent, family at 60 per cent, work at 45 per cent, and wealth and freedom at 30 per cent. The report further indicates that as much as the youth value work, the association between hard work and success declines as someone progresses in their education.

In terms of aspirations, 48 per cent of the youth would like to get into business while 26 per cent wish to get into careers like law, medicine, teaching and engineering, and a further 11 per cent wish to get into farming.

The study shows that the young and corruptible electorate could undermine democracy by limiting candidates without significant financial resources from competing for votes.

In light of these findings, the institute hopes that the survey will open lines for debate and dialogue.

“We hope that the official release of the survey findings and the debate and dialogue it will create will raise new questions that could demand follow up surveys and or in-depth analysis of the findings, including combining our study and other relevant surveys to provide better insights to our findings,” Awiti says.

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