‘07 ISSUE 01/07 SEPTEMBER BRIDGING THE GAP TOWARDS A CONDUCIVE POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIO ­ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA A reflection by development experts on the possible ways to deal with development disparities that characterizes the Kenyan economy This “Bridging The Gap” is a Policy Brief recapitulating the discussions and recommendations of the first Economic Roundtable debate held in Nairobi on 7th June 2007 under the theme:“An Enabling Environment for Promoting Socio-Economic Development” in Kenya. The Economic Roundtable is an initiative of CUTS-International Nairobi Resource Centre(CUTS-NRC) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES-Kenya) as a modern concept of periodic dialoguing on the challenges to national development presented by globalisation policies and proposing their possible solutions. The outputs of these dialogues are aimed at complementing other national and international efforts and strategies of promoting socio-economic and political development. This first Economic Roundtable brought together a wide-range of stakeholders representing Kenyan Civil Society, Private Sector, Media, Academia, and Key Government Representatives to discourse on the possible pro-active policies that could overcome the socially divisive disparities existing in the Kenyan economy so as to foster socio-economic development in Kenya. Introduction The 1995 World Summit for Social Development, through embracing the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action for Social Development, provided the Roadmap to tackling the pervasive concern of socio-economic development. The alarm of addressing issues of poverty, unemployment, inequality, social exclusion and enhancing social integration, has been made sufficiently loud in the Copenhagen Declaration and constitute the imperative elements in addressing the predicament of the poor. Social development is also delineable through the development of peace, freedom, stability and security and the desire to achieve it requires increased national solidarity but also internationally, expressed through appropriate multilateral programmes and strengthened international cooperation. In its broadest definition, socio-economic development entails the attainment of equitable conditions in society where individuals have guaranteed respectable outcomes in income, health, food, personal security and participation in policy making processes in a democratic process. BRIDGING THE GAP | 1