4. The Powers of Agenda-Setting: The Role of Politicians and Experts

This chapter discusses the role of problem identification and definition in policymaking, illustrating how it has shifted in theory and practice since Kenya became independent in the early 1960s. It begins with an overview of how the issue has been covered in the literature focusing on how problem identification has evolved in response to changes in the policy environment, the relationship between technical experts and politicians, and finally how problem identification gives the power to influence the policy agenda and its implementation. The chapter then provides a portrait of the Kenyan policymaking context and how problem identification and definition takes place. A case study of the housing sector is the empirical base for a more detailed discussion of how the exercise today is much more pluralist than it was in the first few decades after independence. Despite the progress that has been made, there is still a mismatch between politicians and technical experts and as a result a mismatch also between supply and demand with the poor and disadvantaged being the losers.