APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 2.32 Kenya has also made a marked progress in the area of land reform as reflected in the new Constitution. A number of interventions including a National Land Commission, an Environment and Land Court of a similar jurisdiction to the High Court, a Land Registration Act for enhancing land management, and a National Spatial Data Infrastructure for facilitating land administration have been enacted. These mechanisms have created an enabling environment for responding to the vexing land issues that dominated the era of the 2006 Country Review. 2.33 Similar accomplishments have been made in the area of broad-based public participation in socio-economic development. Public participation at all levels of social activities in the country has been enshrined in the Constitution of 2010. Active private sector participation in socio-economic development has also been encouraged through the enactment of a Public Private Partnership Law that ensures participation in the financing, construction, development, operation, or maintenance of infrastructure or development projects of the Government. A National Youth Council has been set up to promote effective youth participation in decisions. 2.34 Emerging challenges of rising poverty levels and an inequitable distribution of wealth in Kenya were also noted by the 2006 Report. Since then, Kenya has implemented a number of policies and programmes aimed at addressing poverty, inequitable wealth distribution and unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, through social and economic policies; land reforms and the fight against corruption. The new Constitution contains provisions for addressing poverty eradication, income inequality and regional imbalances. An Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act was enacted in 2011 to fight corruption. In addition, various Funds and National Cash Transfer programmes have been set up to ameliorate social and economic inequalities. 2.35 Discrimination against women was found to be deeply entrenched in customary, religious and cultural practices during the time of the 2006 Country Review Mission. To address these negative practices, the Mission’s Report suggested, the initiation of a gender sensitive approach in monitoring and evaluation of development programmes, and the enactment of an Affirmative Action and other related gender equity policies. The Report also promoted the idea of the Government dialoguing with the different communities in Kenya on harmful cultural practices, and the outlawing of all forms of discrimination in respect of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 2.36 The Kenya Government has progressed steadily towards the implementation of these recommendations and gender equality in general in the country. Gender equality was given a new legal meaning in the new Constitution through specific Articles, such as (Article 27(8)) which provides that “no more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender”. Also, legislation on property rights has improved women’s access to private property and the right to inheritance. 2.37 Despite these accomplishments, Kenya is still faced with some socio-economic challenges in a number of areas. High levels of poverty; inequality, that appears to border on all aspects of life; youth unemployment; worsening pupil teacher ratios as a result of high | 40 |