Energy Security for a Holistic Developmental Transformation in Kenya

• Mumo Nzau

  National Defence University - Kenya

  Author

Between 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic brought economic productivity and billions of livelihoods globally to a near halt. It disrupted trade, commerce, industry, and exchange within states and across regions, thereby worsening unemployment and human suffering. Barely two years later, in early 2022, the world was plunged into yet another crisis following the Russian invasion of 
Ukraine. A host of international sanctions against Russia have since fuelled a global food and energy crisis, thereby worsening inflation, national debt, and a host of other macroeconomic problems the world over. This state of affairs, coupled with the adversities occasioned by global climate change, spells doom for many developing countries’ quest for holistic and sustainable development. Kenya is no exception. Against all these odds, Kenya seeks to transform itself into an industrializing middle-income economy by 2030. This overarching national developmental end objective resonates with key regional and global development blueprints, including Africa Agenda 2063 and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2030, the population of Kenya will be 66 million and at least 80 million by 2050 (Population Reference Bureau, 2015). The main argument in this paper is that, for Kenya to handle the human security demands and needs of such a populace, it has to undergo a holistic developmental transformation. Taking on a conceptual and discursive approach to a SWOT analysis informed by secondary sources of data, the paper responds to this puzzle by making a strong case for energy security as a prime ingredient in any recipe for holistic developmental transformation in Kenya. While the findings point to serious threats and weaknesses, they also reveal numerous strengths and opportunities insofar as the energy security-holistic development nexus in Kenya is concerned. Subsequently, it makes a number of pertinent recommendations on how to harness these strengths and opportunities going forward. 

1. Mumo Nzau, National Defence University - Kenya

   Dr. Mumo Nzau holds a PhD in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Nairobi and adjunct faculty United States International University (USIU), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), National Defence College (NDC), Joint Command and Staff College (JCSC), International Peace Support Training Centre (ISPTC), Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and RDF Command and Staff College, among others.

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