SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Social Infrastructure In Our Emerging Towns And Cities
By Walter Nyabundi
I had the opportunity to attend the Fifth Devolution Conference hosted by Kakamega County late last month . Having only attended one other Devolution Conference ( the second one hosted by Kisumu County in 2015 ), I must congratulate the County Government of Kakamega , the Council of Governors and the Ministry of Devolution for organizing , what was by all indications , an extremely successful event .
The conference was rather well attended , and the quality of presentations , discussions and debates especially was quite impressive . It was also very nice to see top tier private sector players like Safaricom contributing to the proceedings in Kakamega .
The concept of Devolution has truly taken root ; County Governments have fought for their space , scaled for the most part what appeared to be insurmountable odds and are now firmly embedded in the Kenyan political , social and economic fabric . Indeed , it has been mentioned that counties are now the theatres of the country ’ s development and journey towards becoming a middle class world economy by 2030 . It is hard to argue with that .
However , for counties to truly play an active role in Kenya ’ s development , the issue of social infrastructure needs to be urgently addressed .
Those who have written extensively on this area describe social infrastructure as “ foundational services and structures that support or enhance the quality of life of a nation , region , city or neighborhood , including any infrastructure that goes beyond basic economic functions to make a community an appealing place to live .”
In the past , positional power used to work reasonably well , but today , every time we lean heavily on the “ because I said so ” option , there is always unwanted collateral damage to the relationship with your colleagues . Positional power should be minimized and under-stated . It only guarantees the job will get done to the absolutely lowest standard .
These amenities include Education ( schools and other academic facilities ), Transport ( services such as efficient and reliable public transport and pedestrian walkways ), Healthcare ( medical services that prolong life and promote human health such as hospitals and pharmacies ), Hospitality ( decent eateries and hotels ), Retail ( presence of sizeable and well stocked shopping outlets ), Community Support ( services that support community well -being such as co – curricular activities for pupils and students ).
The list includes Public Spaces ( demarcated areas for enjoying nature , sports , recreation , family , social activities , meditation and worship ), Information ( access to services such as libraries and the Internet ) Public Safety ( emergency services , and the general protection of people and property ), and Arts & Culture ( aspects of a community that have artistic or cultural value such as national heritage sites ).
All these elements – typically found in urban areas if we are being honest - speak to convenience more than anything else . In short , the essence of urban existence is convenience .
Throughout my stay in Kakamega Town , which could be best described as peri – urban , I could not help but notice that the local business community did not really
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