National Development Plan for the Period 1997-2001

Abstract

This Plan covers the first phase of the Sessional Paper on Industrial Transformation to the Year 2020. This 8th National Development Plan for the period 1997 to 2001, lays the foundation for the transformation of Kenya from an economy with agriculture as its back-borne to a newly industrialised country (NIC) by 2020. Indeed, the Plan is the first one in the series to implement policies and strategies in Sessional Paper No.2 of 1996 on Industrial Transformation to the Year 2020. The strategy adopted in this Plan is to rely on Agriculture and Industry as twin engines for faster economic growth.This Plan is different from the previous ones in that it addresses one significant sectoral issue - industrialisation. For our economy to move to the status of an industrialising economy in a quarter of a century, Kenyans will have to raise the level of their annual saving capacity from the recent average of 17 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to around 30 per cent annually. This will not be an easy task unless all Kenyans are irreversibly committed to achieve this objective of rapid industrialisation and accept greater sacrifices for well over a generation...