The Mail on Sunday has reported that the UK is giving £30 million in aid to fund a general election in Kenya. This is incorrect – the British government works through international partners to support election management, legal reforms and efforts to resolve disputes and reduce violence in Kenya. The article also claims that the UK will contribute a further £2.5 million this year. This is also incorrect – DFID has not provided any new support in 2017 to help ensure free, fair and peaceful elections in Kenya.
As our support to Kenya is a UK government initiative and this is an issue which affects a number of departments, a joint statement was issued to the Mail on Sunday:
A UK government spokesperson said:
The UK government supports free, fair and peaceful elections in Kenya, to help to maintain security and stability, which is in all our interests. Election support was allocated in 2015 and is overseen by the FCO in Kenya.
Why does DFID work in Kenya?
- Nearly 20 million Kenyans still live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.25 a day, and inequality is growing.
- During the 2007 Kenyan elections over a thousand people were killed, thousands of people were displaced, and subsequent economic growth fell to nearly 0%.
- Around 30,000 British nationals live in Kenya and over 100,000 Britons visit Kenya each year.
- The UK and Kenya are natural partners. We have a great deal in common: we have reputations for innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and our economies are the fastest growing economies in our regions; we share strong democratic values. There are great opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships – in business, in trade, in defence and security.
DFID support in Kenya has:
- enabled 550,000 children to access primary education
- provided 450,000 women with modern family planning services
- helped 1.1 million people cope with the effects of climate change
- improved access to clean energy for 476,000 people
- distributed over 11.2 million bed nets to prevent malaria
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