The Role of Women Retirees in Rural Development in Kenya.

Abstract

Africa development process is continuously mutilated, truncated, disrupted, distorted and inhabited by unsuitable policies as retirement, retrenchment, redundancy declaration policies, demobilization of manpower and the intervention of foreign imposed structural adjustment policies. With their expertise and skills in various disciplines, retirees can be targeted to enhance development in their communities. They can be advisors, teachers, and mentors in programs, such as local associations, crime prevention, and parents association. With the introduction of Nyumba Kumi Concept the National Government requested the police retirees to register so as to be involved in security watch in the country, a practice in the right direction and the focus of this paper. When women are economically and socially empowered, they become a powerful force for change. In rural areas, women play a key role in running households and contributing to agricultural production. Women retirees are empowered, have skills, expertise and can be involved in mentoring at organizational as well as society levels. They can participate actively in formulation and implementation of development policies in rural areas. With retirement, the retirees adopt new roles which either match their expertise or in a different field altogether. With abrupt demobilization and forced retirement, skilled manpower is literally pushed to the wall in terms of being forced to come up with new ways of re-harnessing their accumulated skills in projects which in some situations do not correspond to their line of expertise. In the midst of all these, this paper will examine the role played by women retirees in rural development and how they could be a potential source for future growth in the devolved system of governance.