National Economic and Social Council | KENYA

The NESC Council is a standing committee comprising of eminent persons with diverse experience, knowledge, and skills, that is chaired by H.E the President or Hon. Minister for Finance in his absence. The committee is mandated to provide expert advice on economic and social matters to H.E. the President and the Cabinet. The Council was formed through the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 7699 of September 24, 2004.

A new turning point in history of Kenya was made when his Excellency the President of the republic of Kenya, launched the first ever National Economic & Social council on January 10th, 2005, at Statehouse, Nairobi. The Council members bring together expertise, experience, and distinguished service in diverse fields and countries, medical practitioners, Social Scientists, economists, engineers, industrialists, and other business and public service professionals.

VISION
To be a leading institution in advising, coordinating and facilitating the implementation of sound economic and social policies

MISSION
To provide expert, impartial and independent advice on economic and social matters to the government as well as promote consensus building through dialogue among partners in order fast track the economic and social development the country

To achieve its core mandate of creating a forum for the government, private sector and labour unions to discuss and recommend policies for implementations seven strategic objectives been identified to include the following:

• Continuous analysis and reporting on the efficient dev. of the economy and achievement of social justice (the council will evaluate the successes achieved in the area of economic development and social equity and justice and recommend corrective measures.
• Provide forums for exchange of views between people with common interest in dev. of the economy and in the pursuit of social justice.
• Strengthen institutional capacities to quantify and asses poverty, formulate prioritized strategies and implement and monitor program mes of direct assistance to reduce poverty.
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In the council's endeavor to fulfill its mission and realize its vision, its actions are guided by the following principles: -

• Equity - This will involve responding to and supporting diverse needs and interests as well as working to achieve social justice
• Effectiveness  - i.e. setting and accomplishing set objectives, pursuing innovative approaches, safeguarding public assets and making efficient use of resources.
• Networking - work towards seeking partnerships with private enterprises and businesses, other public institutions/departments and the international community.
• Sustainability  - seeking to integrate environmental, social, economic and fiscal perspectives in the council's actions.
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This is a standing committee comprising of eminent persons with diverse experience, knowledge, and skills that is chaired by H.E the President or Hon. Minister for Finance in his absence. The committee provides expert advice on economic and social matters to H.E. The President and the Cabinet.

A summary of the functions of the Council (interpreted from Kenya Gazette Notice No. 7699 of September 24, 2004) are:

• Create a forum in which the Government, Private Sector and the labour unions can discuss and identify policy issues and recommend to the Government implementation of such policies;
• Gather, analyze and compile information on economic developments and trends and submit such information to the Cabinet with appropriate recommendations;
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The Council further identifies two strategic opportunities. The first is to change the face of the City of Nairobi by undertaking radical governance and structural changes, and the second is to prepare Kenya to take full advantage of the peace dividend from the recent regional developments, particularly with peace accords in Sudan and Somalia.
Task Force Priorities:
The two task forces are also charged with working on the three priorities which are:

• The preparation of a marketing strategy to change the image of Kenya locally and abroad (also in tandem with the proposals for the city of Nairobi made above). 
• The undertaking of a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis with comparator countries such as Chile, Malaysia, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, Tanzania and Uganda.
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