Productivity

Kenya is doing quite well in the area of natural resources. Kenyans enjoy limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower, tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs, and more (CIA, 2009). These resources should allow Kenya to be extremely productive and make money, which should allow Kenyans to obtain a high GPD, allowing for a high standard of living.
However this is not the case. Kenya is lacking in physical capital. Less than three percent of Africans have internet access and very few Africans, especially in Kenya, have phone lines (Mulama, 2004). Some areas of Kenya do not even have electricity. Some areas of Kenya do have the physical capital and the technological knowledge to make solar power work (Mulama, 2004). Because there is so much poverty in Kenya, Kenya is not able to afford much physical capital. Kenya does have some machines to make coffee and tea ready to sell but most work Kenyans do, like farm work, is done using manpower (CIA, 2009). This majorly holds back productivity because machines can do jobs much more efficiently than a person can. Since Kenya does not have machines to do their work more efficiently, Kenya is less productive. Since they are less productive they have less money than they could have. Kenyans in turn are not living up to their potential living standards.
Additionally though Kenyans do have the technological knowledge of how to mine and farm (CIA, 2009) since Kenyans are generally not able to have computers both their technological knowledge and human capital suffer, which directly causes Kenya’s productivity to suffer. Kenyans are not able to gain education through computers because they simply do not have them. Computers are useful in education because of the plethora of up-to-date information that can be discovered throughout the internet. Not only does the internet have factual information but it can also help teachers determine the best way to teach subjects.
Many Kenyan boys are able to become educated through schools but computers would help increase their human capital. Kenya also lacks in human capital because fewer girls are educated than boys (CIA, 2009). 79% of females are enrolled in school while 90% of males are enrolled in school (World Resource Institute, 2006). It is also difficult for Kenyans to gain technological knowledge because they cannot easily share in the knowledge of the best way to accomplish tasks because they do not have the internet to see how people are most efficiently accomplishing tasks globally. Thus, even though Kenya is rich in natural resources, its lack of human capital, physical capital, and technological knowledge cause Kenya to not live up to its potential productivity.

References:
Mulama, Joyce. "On The Way To Getting Wired." IPS. IPS, 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. .

CIA. "Kenya Economy." CIA Worls Factbook. CIA, Nov. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. . World Resource Institue. "School Enrollment and Literacy." World Resource Institute. N.p., 2006. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .