Lucy Muchoki Calls for Economic Devolution as Kenya Reviews Vision 2030 Performance

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Director, Programmes and Partnerships Lucy Muchoki has called for a stronger role for counties and the private sector in shaping Kenya’s economic future, saying the country must draw important lessons from the performance of Vision 2030.

Speaking during the Vision 2030 multi-stakeholder engagements, Muchoki raised concern over the performance of the economic pillar, which she said had achieved only **55 per cent**, describing the outcome as alarming and a clear signal that Kenya must rethink how economic transformation is planned and implemented.

Muchoki, however, welcomed the formal multi-stakeholder engagement framework, saying it provides an important platform for government, the private sector and other actors to openly assess the country’s development journey and collectively identify what needs to change.

She called for **greater economic devolution**, arguing that Kenya’s economic development must be driven closer to the people and businesses operating across the country's counties. Such an approach, she said, would allow local economic opportunities, challenges and priorities to receive greater attention in national planning.

Her intervention underlines the importance of ensuring that Vision 2030 and its successor development frameworks are not viewed solely as government programmes, but as shared national undertakings requiring meaningful participation from the business community.

KNCCI is particularly well positioned to contribute to this conversation. With its extensive county-level presence and role as a leading business membership organisation, the Chamber provides a critical link between policymakers and enterprises across Kenya. Its mandate includes advocating for a favourable commercial, trade and investment environment that supports businesses ranging from micro and small enterprises to medium and large companies. 

Muchoki's call therefore places the business community firmly at the centre of the national conversation on Kenya's economic transformation. Her emphasis on economic devolution also resonates with KNCCI's longstanding advocacy for stronger private-sector participation in county-level development, trade and policy-making. 

As Kenya charts its development path beyond Vision 2030, voices such as Muchoki's are increasingly important in ensuring that the next phase of national planning is informed by the realities faced by businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and communities across the country.

The multi-stakeholder process offers an opportunity to turn the lessons of Vision 2030 into a more inclusive and locally responsive economic strategy—one in which counties, businesses and citizens are not merely beneficiaries of development, but active participants in shaping it.