Governace for inclusive development: case of sand harvesting in Makueni County - Kenya

This study focuses on governance for inclusive development with Makueni county as the case study in sand harvesting. This research is important because it examines a case of a decentralised unit of administration that is operating independently by implementing a policy formulated specific to the dynamics of the region. This study will examine if the policy guiding on sand harvesting fosters inclusive development on paper and in practice through implementation. The main questions are establishing how sand harvesting is governed in Makueni county, how the policy fosters inclusive development on paper and in practice and challenges in fostering inclusive development in practice. The questions are addressed through document review by analyzing the Makueni county sand conservation and utilization act of 2015. The main findings of the study are that the policy on paper is formulated to achieve inclusive development through participation, a strategy to guide on redistribution of benefits and costs, promoting environmental sustainability. However, the challenges of elite capture, corruption, conflicts, lack of a committee to handle conflicts, lack of a strategy to guide of Public-Private partnerships hinders the achievement of inclusive development in Makueni’s sand harvesting governance. This study highlights prospects for advancing inclusive development in practice among them strong stakeholder engagement, strategies to reduce on corruption, strategies to empower the marginalized. This research contributes to decentralized governance of sand offering insights for policy reforms to achieve inclusive development in Makueni county.