Kenya

J

Foreign Trade

Kenya is dependent on foreign trade. Since 1980 the country has usually run a substantial trade deficit with countries outside Africa and a surplus with those in East Africa. In 2004 Kenya’s imports totaled $4.6 billion and its exports totaled $3 billion. Kenya’s imports include industrial raw materials, crude petroleum, and machinery. Exports include tea, coffee, horticultural products, petroleum products, and cement.

K

Currency and Banking

Kenya’s basic unit of currency is the Kenyan shilling, consisting of 100 cents (75.6 Kenyan shillings equal US$1; 2005 average). Currency is issued by the Central Bank of Kenya, established in Nairobi in 1966. An extensive network of commercial banks, both locally and foreign-owned, serves most of Kenya’s urban areas. The Nairobi Stock Exchange serves the whole country.

VI

Government of Kenya

Before independence in 1963, Kenya was a British colony governed by an all-powerful colonial administrator. The vast majority of Kenyans were not allowed to vote and were not represented in the government. With independence, Kenya became a constitutional monarchy under the nominal sovereignty of the British monarch, with a prime minister serving as head of government. In 1964 Kenya cut its ties to the British throne and became a republic with a president as head of state and government. From 1964 to 1966, and from 1969 to 1982, Kenya was, for all practical purposes, a one-party state; between 1982 and 1991 it was a one-party state by law. In 1991 the Kenyan government allowed for the existence of multiple political parties, and in 1992 the country held its first contested presidential elections.

Independent Kenya’s first constitution, adopted in 1963, provided for a semifederal system with a two-chamber national legislature and regional governments with designated powers. When the constitution was revised in 1964 to provide for a republic with a strong president, most federal features of the government were scrapped. In 1967 the two chambers of the legislature were merged to form the single-chamber National Assembly. The country holds regularly scheduled parliamentary elections, and all citizens age 18 and older are eligible to vote.

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A

Executive

The executive branch is the most influential branch of the Kenyan government. Kenya’s president serves as head of state. The president is elected by the people for a five-year term, and a 1991 constitutional amendment established a two-term limit for the presidency. To become president, a candidate must simultaneously run for president and for a seat in parliament and must win both elections. The president appoints a cabinet of ministers, each of whom heads an executive department of the government, and a vice president, who is also a member of the cabinet. Under the terms of a 2008 power-sharing agreement, the position of prime minister was created to replace the president as head of government.

B

Legislature

Kenya’s parliament is a single-chamber body called the National Assembly. Legislation passed by the parliament becomes law after being approved by the president. Elections to the National Assembly are held every five years, unless called earlier by the president or the assembly itself. Following the elections held in 2002, the National Assembly consisted of 210 directly elected representatives (including the president), 12 members nominated by the president, the attorney general, and the speaker of the house.