ABSTRACT
Self-help serves a variety of functions in the political process. This chapter examines the links between Harambee, as a mode of local-level development, and national politics in Kenya. It presents a model for interpreting Kenyan politics and explores the relationship between this model of political behavior and Harambee self-help. One of the most important functions served by Harambee is that of reconciling the values of the pre-colonial political and social systems with those of a modern economy based on individual enterprise. Much political analysis of developing countries has focused on institutional development, assessments of party structures, the growth of governing institutions, and organizational change. Like many nations, Kenya has a modern bureaucracy, a Parliamentary system of Government, and a nationwide political party, the Kenya Africa National Union. An important institution operating at the district level is the District Development Committee. County Councils are elected bodies covering the entire district and responsible for the maintenance of some local-level services.
