Kenya’s economy is under immense pressure this year. A prolonged drought into the first-half of the year coupled with jitters about an extended electioneering window has left the economy heading south. Latest quarterly GDP data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that the economy expanded by five per cent in the second quarter of 2017, lower than the expansion witnessed during similar period a year ago by 1.3 percentage points.
This is due to a 1.7 per cent contraction in agriculture output as a result of the failed rains. In addition, manufacturing, financial services, accommodation and food services rose at a slower pace in the period to June.
