Table 2-1 – SIGs and exclusion manifestation table

Special Interest Groups (SIG) have indicated that social exclusion in Bungoma Municipality manifests in the following forms:

Table 2-1 – SIGs and exclusion manifestation table

Women Key findings from the Bungoma Municipality Diagnostic Report

› Lack of access to information and no participation in decision-making processes: In FGDs, women indicated that they do not feel represented in the design of programmes targeted at them or at their children. Moreover, they feel they are not represented in leadership positions and women’s opinions are not taken into consideration in decision-making processes. Due to social norms, women rarely participate when they are in consultation meetings with mixed groups. In the Bukusu community, dominant in Bungoma, only men have a say regarding children’s upbringing. › Competing care responsibilities: Due to cultural norms, women are expected to undertake community and domestic responsibilities, which often limits their possibilities to obtain higher education levels or engage in socio-economic activities. For those who are employed or would like to start a business, there is often a lack of support (e.g. childcare facilities). Women’s participation in agriculture is often seen as family work and unpaid, contributing to women’s time burden. › Limited access to assets and finance: Due to cultural norms, women have limited control over economic resources. Women do not own land and access to it is through their spouses (they cannot own income from this property either, nor sell the products obtained through that land); this makes access to funds that require collateral difficult. In Bungoma, when the husband dies, property is inherited by his brothers – women cannot inherit property in most communities. Moreover, due to cultural beliefs and traditions, when the husband dies, all livestock must be killed soon after the burial. › Lack of employment opportunities: Many young mothers and girls from Bungoma migrate to other towns such as Eldoret, Nakuru and Nairobi in search of employment opportunities, to predominantly work as housekeepers. However, FGDs indicated that these jobs are usually underpaid. › Challenges when engaging in socio-economic activities: As in other groups, FGDs stated that business permits are costly and not many women have access to them. Moreover, women often lack access to information about business and market opportunities. For those engaging in agriculture, they face high costs of quality inputs and there are no markets for farm products and surplus production. Middlemen often exploit them and do not pay them as they should. › High levels of gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful social norms: There are high levels of GBV within Bungoma. There is one centre to tackle GBV within the Municipality, but FGDs have indicated that the centre is currently not operating. The County’s Spatial Plan 2016-2025 also highlighted that some cultural norms prevalent in Bungoma, such as polygamy, often contribute to the propagation of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. In rural areas, due to the lack of infrastructure, women still travel long distances to fetch water12 .

› Lack of involvement in decision-making processes: In FGDs, young people expressed that they do not feel represented in the design of programmes targeted at them. They also feel that they are not represented in leadership positions. › High unemployment levels: FGDs stated that there are high unemployment levels among the youth and there is nepotism in the way employment opportunities are distributed. Moreover, there are high levels of economic migration to Uganda and other counties in Kenya. FGDs mentioned the need for skills development and training. › Lack of access to capital: Youths do not often have access to finance or capital to engage in businesses. According to FGDs, due to the recent change in political leadership, there have been changes in the boda boda SACCO, and youth can no longer access affordable loans or credit to buy motorbikes. FGDs highlighted that access to available government loans is highly bureaucratic, lengthy, and with the requirement of collateral. Information about existent funds and opportunities is not easily accessible. › Challenges when engaging in socio-economic activities: All SIGs’ FGDs highlighted, as a cross-cutting theme, that farm input costs and electricity represent a challenge to many businesses.

Obtaining business licences is prohibitive for most SIGs, including youth. Moreover, for those who engage in transportation services, there are high rates of insecurity and many boda boda operators have their motorbikes stolen. › Substance abuse: KIIs and FGDs recognised that substance abuse is an endemic problem among the youth in Bungoma. There are high levels of alcohol consumption (chang’aa) and addiction to drugs such as bhang and kubel.

12 Bungoma County, CSP, (2018).

Source: Atkins, 2022 Key findings from the Bungoma Municipality Diagnostic Report

› Lack of PWD-friendly infrastructure: FGDs have indicated that most buildings (even public offices), markets (and market vending spaces), transport services, and public spaces, are not accessible to PWD, particularly for those using assistive devices. For example, the Bungoma County Department of Gender, Culture, Youth and Sports is located on the third floor of the building, there are no ramps, and the lift is not operational. Public infrastructure within the Municipality does not consider PWD accessibility (e.g. there are no PWD-friendly public toilets). › Lack of access to employment opportunities: Due to discrimination, PWD do not get access to employment opportunities. While women, youth and PWD are supposed to benefit from 30% of government procurement opportunities, its implementation lags. › Lack of access to information and communication barriers: PWD are not always aware of their rights (e.g. tax exemptions). Moreover, there are communication barriers that affect PWDs’ access to social protections and infrastructure. › Low literacy levels: While there are seven special education facilities in Bungoma, they often lack adequate equipment and materials for PWD. Moreover, special education is usually costly and there are no bursaries to support PWD at the primary level. This acts as a barrier for PWD to access to education, leading to lower literacy levels than their able-bodied counterparts. › Lack of PWD involvement in decision-making processes: PWD feel they are not usually represented or consulted in the preparation and implementation of programmes targeted at them. › Lack of access to capital: Due to discrimination, lower literacy levels, and lack of access to land or other forms of collateral, PWD face several barriers to obtain seed capital to start economic activities or to expand their businesses.

Opportunities for inclusion in the SUED programme include involvement of all in decision-making and in the development of safe, inclusive and climate-resilient infrastructure. This will enable better access to capacity building initiatives, seed capital and employment opportunities – especially through participation in the VC projects.

As raised in section 1.5, there are interlinkages between climate change and poverty, as climate change will have an impact on income security and quality of life. It is important to understand where the burden of climate change impacts may fall and how societal groups can be included in proposed mitigation measures.

Social inclusion is cognisant of this relationship. The UEP has adopted climate adaptation approaches, as well as inclusivity in all forms, to avoid exclusion of certain groups and to reduce inequality. Similarly, it has sought to address how infrastructure and VCs can be made more resilient to climate shocks, with the understanding that climate impacts hit vulnerable groups the hardest. Economic profile

Bungoma is a medium-sized economy in the Kenyan and regional (LREB) context, surrounded by multiple other key larger economic centres in the LREB, outside the LREB and in Uganda. Bungoma faces competition from these economies, as well as benefitting from their amenities, services, and markets. The bloc represents some of Kenya’s wealthier counties, benefiting from a wealth of natural resources.

The LREB covers just 5% of Kenya’s total land, however, approximately 30% of Kenya’s total population reside there. The LREB region contributes to 23% of the national output, Bungoma contributes the second largest share of the total economic output of the counties in the block, joint with Kakamega, contributing 2.4% to national GDP, as the 11th largest economy of the 47 counties in the country13. The County has recently experienced relatively strong economic growth with an average annual growth rate of 8% from 2013-2017, which was above the 5.6% national average. As demonstrated in Figure 2-7, Bungoma County has a significantly lower GCP per capita (KES 98,000) than the national average. This is also reflected across the economic bloc which has an average GCP per capita of KES 60,000. The economic block’s high output levels are not reflected in the standard of living of its residents.

Bungoma was one of the fastest growing counties in Kenya in terms of its GCP per capita, with an average annual growth rate of roughly 6% for the period 2014 to 2017, compared with the national rate of 3%14. The LREB as a whole also experienced a growth of around 5% in its GCP per capita. This is a result of the high GCP growth experienced by Bungoma County, where the population has also been growing at a fast rate.

13 KNBS, Gross County Product Report (2019). 14 KNBS, Gross County Product Report (2019).