'Neo-Colonial' Economy Booming - The gross national product of Kenya grew by 10% in 1966, a spectacular rate for developing Africa. It has confounded the country's many critics. Since independence in 1963, Kenya has maintained a western capitalist atmosphere in hopes of attracting foreign capital and keeping many foreigners in technical jobs. Although it is committed to "African socialism" on paper, the government has made it clear that it believes nationalization of foreign enterprises is too costly for a poor country like Kenya. The Kenya way of development seems the most logical one. Because it was an old British settler colony, Kenya had a spirit of pioneering free enterprise, a history of foreign investment and a cadre of non-African managers and technicians. Kenya leaders decided it made more sense to build on this economy than to disrupt or destroy it and start anew. For this, Kenya has been criticized, particularly by Africans in countries that came to independence with economies so weak they could be molded into anything...
'Neo-Colonial' Economy Booming - The gross national product of Kenya grew by 10% in 1966, a spectacular rate for developing Africa. It has confounded the country's many critics. Since independence in 1963, Kenya has maintained a western capitalist atmosphere in hopes of attracting foreign capital and keeping many foreigners in technical jobs. Although it is committed to "African socialism" on paper, the government has made it clear that it believes nationalization of foreign enterprises is too costly for a poor country like Kenya. The Kenya way of development seems the most logical one. Because it was an old British settler colony, Kenya had a spirit of pioneering free enterprise, a history of foreign investment and a cadre of non-African managers and technicians. Kenya leaders decided it made more sense to build on this economy than to disrupt or destroy it and start anew. For this, Kenya has been criticized, particularly by Africans in countries that came to independence with economies so weak they could be molded into anything...
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