David Ndii’s article ‘Lessons from Asian tigers that you won’t hear from political leaders’ (Saturday Nation, August 13), focused on, among other issues, the viability of the Standard Gauge Railway, the location of Kenya’s textile industries, and the mechanics behind the rise of the Asian Tigers. Even though it is true that Kenya’s prosperity has been delayed by poor leadership, it is important to put the growth of the Asian Tigers into proper perspective. The economic growth of the Asian Tigers majorly resulted from historical external support from the US and not from their own internal dynamics. EXPORT ORIENTED ECONOMYThat is why Ndii’s proposal of building an export oriented economy where he suggests that Kenya’s textile industries should be built at the port cities is also erroneous. Finally, economic development at the expense of freedom, democracy and human rights is not what Kenya should learn from Asian Tigers.

Source: Daily Nation August 19, 2016 18:24 UTC