Kenya: A barrel of economic shocks in 2011

Billed as the year when the Kenya would consolidate economic gains made during recovery from the 2008 post-election chaos and the global financial crisis, a combination of factors is turning 2011 into a nightmare year for the economy. Rising oil prices driven by the turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East and the current drought – which have affected commodity prices and food supplies respectively – are fuelling fears that the country’s economic growth could lose steam.