The Management of the rural development fund in Kenya : A case study

Abstract

The study focuses on the administration of the Rural Development Fund (RDF) in Kenya. This is a case study, research for which was carried out in Machakos, Meru and Murang'a Districts. The RDF came to being In August 1974 when the District Development Grants programme, which was started in 1971, was put together with the Rural Works Programme which had been started due to increasing rural unemployment and the consequent influx of people from the rural areas to urban centres. The RDF is therefore designed to meet the development requirements of the rural areas; it does not finance projects in the urban areas. Scarcity of development resources and reliance on foreign resources plus the exploitation of rural areas by urban centres have over the years created big urban-rural socio-economic disparities. Hence the significance of the RDF