Monthly Archives

July 2026

Jul 28
0

Why a Rules-Based International Order Is the Foundation of Global Trust

By | News

The contemporary global trust crisis is often discussed in terms of declining confidence in governments, political leaders, media, financial systems and international institutions. Yet beneath these visible symptoms lies a more fundamental challenge that receives far less attention: the gradual weakening of the rules-based international order that has underpinned global peace, cooperation and development since the end of the Second World War. As Dr. Korir Sing’oei observed during the Regulatory Institutions Consultative Breakfast Meeting convened ahead of the 2026 Global Trust Summit, trust does not emerge spontaneously. It is constructed upon an intricate architecture of shared rules, norms and institutions developed over decades of international cooperation.

 

Beginning with the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945, the international community deliberately established a framework of laws, principles and norms designed to regulate relations between states. These principles, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, peaceful coexistence and respect for international law, collectively became what is now known as the rules-based international order. While often viewed through the narrow lens of diplomacy or international law, this framework performs a far broader function. It provides the predictability upon which states cooperate, economies flourish, markets function and citizens develop confidence in public institutions. Without agreed-upon rules, neither trust nor cooperation can endure.

 

Perhaps the most profound insight emerging from Dr. Sing’oei’s remarks is that the rules-based order is not simply an international arrangement; it is the very foundation of statehood itself. States derive legitimacy not merely from political authority but from their recognition within an international legal system governed by common principles. Equally, within states, regulatory institutions derive their authority from legal mandates that establish standards, resolve disputes and protect the public interest. Trust therefore operates across multiple levels: between nations, between governments and citizens, and between regulators and the communities they serve. Once these rules begin to weaken, confidence across each of these levels begins to erode simultaneously.

 

The consequences of declining trust are neither abstract nor theoretical. As highlighted during the breakfast meeting, distrust carries measurable political and economic costs. Compliance with regulatory requirements becomes increasingly difficult and expensive because enforcement must compensate for diminishing voluntary cooperation. Investor confidence declines as markets price uncertainty and institutional risk into investment decisions. Public policies become contested, litigation increases, and social cohesion weakens as citizens question the legitimacy of institutions responsible for governing them. In international affairs, mistrust undermines collective action on transnational challenges ranging from climate change and pandemics to peacebuilding and migration. Weak trust ultimately produces weak cooperation, and weak cooperation limits humanity’s ability to solve shared global problems.

 

For Africa, these challenges carry additional significance. Dr. Sing’oei argues that the continent continues to bear the economic cost of global mistrust through inflated perceptions of investment risk. African economies frequently pay higher borrowing costs despite improvements in governance and macroeconomic performance because historical narratives and information asymmetries continue to shape global perceptions. Trust therefore becomes an economic asset rather than merely a social virtue. Countries whose regulatory institutions are viewed as credible attract greater investment, facilitate international trade more effectively and strengthen their diplomatic influence. Rebuilding trust is consequently not only a governance imperative but also a strategic development priority.

 

This is precisely why regulators occupy such a central position within the trust ecosystem. Regulatory agencies sit at the interface between the authority of the state and the everyday experiences of citizens. Whether safeguarding food standards, ensuring the safety of medicines, protecting financial systems or regulating energy markets, regulators transform legal principles into tangible public confidence. Their decisions influence whether citizens believe that institutions are fair, competent and acting in the public interest. When a regulatory agency certifies a product, licenses a professional or approves a financial institution, it is not merely performing an administrative task; it is extending a public guarantee that society can place confidence in that decision. Regulatory credibility therefore becomes national credibility.

 

The proposed Global Trust Summit recognizes this reality by positioning regulatory institutions as key actors in rebuilding confidence. Rather than viewing trust solely as a political issue, the summit reframes it as a governance challenge requiring coordinated action across government, academia, civil society, the private sector and international partners. Planned outcomes including a Nairobi Declaration on Trust, regulatory trust scorecards and sustained multi-stakeholder engagement signal an ambition not simply to diagnose declining confidence but to establish practical mechanisms for rebuilding it.

 

Ultimately, the rules-based international order should not be understood as a distant diplomatic construct negotiated only in multilateral forums. It is reflected daily in the quality of institutions, the credibility of regulators and the confidence citizens place in public authority. Every trusted certificate, every transparent regulatory decision and every consistently applied standard reinforces the broader architecture upon which both national governance and international cooperation depend. As global fragmentation intensifies, preserving and strengthening this rule-based order is no longer merely a foreign policy objective; it is an investment in the trust that enables societies, markets and nations to flourish.

 

The defining challenge before governments today is therefore not simply how to restore trust, but how to strengthen the rules that make trust possible. In an era marked by geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption and growing public skepticism, the future of the international system may well depend on a simple but profound question: Can there be enduring trust without enduring rules?

 

The Global Trust Summit Think Paper Series presents concise, evidence-informed reflections on emerging governance challenges shaping trust, institutions, and international cooperation. The papers are intended to stimulate dialogue ahead of the Global Trust Summit 2026 and contribute to broader policy discussions among governments, regulatory institutions, academia, civil society, the private sector, and development partners. The views expressed are intended to inform discussion and do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Summit or its convening partners.

 

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it. Contact us via communications@strathmore.edu

 

Jul 21
0

IWMI Supports Solar Agriculture Capacity in East Africa

By | News

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Strathmore University Energy Research Centre (SERC) entered into partnership on April 24 to develop and deliver training programs on the application of solar technologies in agriculture across Kenya and Ethiopia. The partnership brings together IWMI’s research-for-development expertise and its strong links with farmers, private-sector actors and policymakers across East Africa with SERC’s experience in energy research, professional training and project development. Together, the institutions aim to strengthen human and institutional capacities needed to expand the responsible and sustainable use of solar energy in agriculture.

 

The agreement is part of the Solar Energy for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) project, led by IWMI and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The SoLAR project seeks to unlock investments and create an enabling environment for scaling solar energy solutions for agriculture. Building on the project’s first phase implemented in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, SoLAR II has expanded to East Africa, with activities in Ethiopia and Kenya.

 

“The transition to solar-powered agriculture requires more than access to technology; it requires people and institutions with the capacity to use, manage and promote these solutions effectively. This collaboration will help equip key stakeholders with the skills needed to drive adoption, improve agricultural productivity and build resilience in rural communities,” said Josey Kamanda, an innovation scaling researcher at IWMI and the Kenya country lead for the SoLAR project.

 

Agriculture remains a key pillar of the economies of both Ethiopia and Kenya, but production is constrained by frequent droughts coupled with limited access to energy. Kenya is leveraging solar irrigation to strengthen water governance and support rural economic development, while in Ethiopia, solar-powered irrigation is increasingly viewed as a promising pathway for enhancing rural livelihoods. In both countries, SoLAR complements ongoing national efforts to expand access to clean, reliable and sustainable energy for irrigation and other productive agricultural uses.

 

 

Group discussion on capacity-building needs for different stakeholders in solar-powered agriculture.

A comprehensive assessment of capacity gaps in applying solar technologies in agriculture will be conducted in Kenya, using stakeholder consultation workshops and desktop research to identify knowledge gaps and barriers to adoption. Based on this assessment, priority themes for training of different target groups will be identified, including topics such as access to finance that limit women and other vulnerable groups from accessing solar technologies and related opportunities.

 

Drawing on those findings, SERC and IWMI will co-design a gender-responsive curriculum that blends technical knowledge with practical, hands-on skills for technicians, field officers from private sector and development partners, government extension agents and students in technical and vocational training institutions. The curriculum will be rolled out by Strathmore, covering a range of solar applications in agriculture such as solar irrigation, cold storage, agri-processing and food drying. The content and delivery approaches will be tailored to the different roles, experience levels and educational backgrounds of the target groups.

 

This emphasis on capacity building is shared by SERC, whose skills development work with trainers, farmers, agribusinesses and policymakers is helping translate national ambitions into practical, on-the-ground adoption. Dr. Churchill Saoke, the director of the Strathmore Energy Research Centre, explains how capacity building is central to scaling solar irrigation sustainably. “By equipping trainers, farmers, agribusinesses, and policymakers with practical skills and knowledge, we can accelerate adoption, strengthen local ownership, and ensure that the benefits of clean irrigation reach communities across Kenya and Ethiopia.”

 

SERC’s role in the partnership is further strengthened by its membership in Kenya’s SoLAR Country Project Management Committee (CPMC). The committee brings together government, research and private-sector partners to guide project implementation, align activities with national priorities and promote coordination and shared learning. This provides an important platform for ensuring that the training programmes respond to country needs and complement wider efforts to scale solar energy solutions in agriculture.

 

The agreement also provides a foundation for South-South learning, facilitating knowledge exchange between Kenyan and Ethiopian stakeholders, alongside lessons from the extension agent training conducted in India. These cross-country learnings will contribute to the long-term institutionalization of solar agriculture education within regional training systems.

 

This article was first published here.

 

Jul 20
0

Trust Is the World’s Most Valuable Currency and We Are Running Out of It

By | News

What if tomorrow morning you woke up and discovered that you could no longer trust your bank, your government, the news you consume, the medicines prescribed by your doctor, or even the international agreements designed to prevent war? Society would not simply become inconvenient; it would become unworkable.

 

That is because trust is not a luxury. It is the invisible infrastructure upon which economies function, institutions govern, markets operate, and nations cooperate. We rarely notice its presence because it quietly underpins almost every decision we make. We board airplanes trusting that aviation regulators have done their job. We eat food believing that someone has verified its safety. We save money in banks because we trust financial systems to protect it. We vote because we believe institutions will honour the outcome. At the international level, countries sign treaties, trade goods, exchange intelligence, and cooperate on climate change because they trust that others will uphold agreed rules.

 

Trust, in other words, is the world’s most valuable currency. Yet it is a currency we are rapidly spending without replenishing.

 

Across the globe, confidence in governments, institutions, businesses, media, and even international organizations is declining. Recent global surveys paint a sobering picture. Half of the world’s population expresses little or no trust in government, while only a small minority believes life will improve in the years ahead. These statistics are often interpreted as evidence of domestic political dissatisfaction. They reveal a global crisis of confidence that increasingly defines international relations, governance, and development.

 

We are living through what many scholars describe as an age of suspicion. Information travels faster than ever before, yet confidence in information is weakening. Governments have unprecedented technological capabilities, yet citizens increasingly question their intentions. International institutions possess more experience than at any other point in history, yet multilateral cooperation has become more fragile. While our world has become more interconnected, it has also become more distrustful.

 

Trust is far more than a social virtue. It is a strategic asset. Without trust, investors hesitate, businesses delay decisions, citizens withdraw their participation, and international negotiations stall. Even the strongest legal frameworks become difficult to implement when people no longer believe in the institutions responsible for enforcing them.

 

The international system functions because countries agree to operate within a common framework of laws, norms, and institutions. Since the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945, this rules-based order has provided the predictability that allows states to trade, negotiate, resolve disputes, and cooperate across borders. When confidence in that system weakens, the consequences extend far beyond diplomacy. Investors become cautious, development partnerships weaken, and collective responses to shared challenges become increasingly fragmented.

 

For Africa, trust is also an economic resource. Countries whose institutions are viewed as credible attract greater investment, facilitate international trade more effectively, and strengthen their influence on the global stage. The continent cannot afford a persistent trust deficit because perceptions of institutional weakness carry real economic costs.

 

Regulatory institutions, therefore, deserve far greater attention than they often receive. Every licence issued, every inspection conducted, every product certified, and every standard enforced represents more than an administrative exercise. It is a promise to society that institutions are working in the public interest. When regulators act with integrity, transparency, consistency, and fairness, they build confidence not only domestically but internationally.

 

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and data-driven governance makes trust even more important. Technology alone cannot create trust. Citizens are unlikely to embrace digital innovation if they fear their information will be misused or that automated decisions lack transparency and accountability. The future belongs not simply to digital governments, but to trusted digital governments.

 

Rebuilding trust requires much more than communication campaigns. It is earned through competence, honesty, transparency, accountability, and consistent leadership. Trust grows slowly through repeated positive experiences and can disappear almost overnight when integrity is compromised.

 

As Kenya prepares to host the Global Trust Summit 2026, the conversation could not be more timely. The Summit recognizes that trust is no longer a peripheral governance issue. It has become one of the defining policy challenges of our generation. Governments, regulators, businesses, academia, civil society, the media, and citizens all have a role to play in rebuilding confidence and strengthening cooperation.

 

History teaches us that societies rarely collapse because they run out of resources. More often, they falter because they lose confidence in one another and in the institutions that bind society together.

 

The defining question before us is no longer whether trust matters. We already know it does. The real question is whether we are prepared to invest in rebuilding it before the costs of distrust become irreversible. Trust cannot be legislated into existence, borrowed during a crisis, or manufactured through rhetoric. It must be earned patiently, consistently, and deliberately.
Trust remains the world’s most valuable currency. The challenge before us is that we are spending it faster than we are rebuilding it.

 

Article written by Dr. Anne Maureen Syallow, a Senior Lecturer at Strathmore University and a Research Fellow at the Strathmore Institute of Public Policy and Governance (IPPG). Her scholarship focuses on international relations, governance, migration, media, gender, peacebuilding, and institutional trust. She contributes to the Global Trust Summit 2026 Knowledge Series, examining how trust shapes governance, diplomacy, and international cooperation.

Jul 17
0

Researchers Develop Framework to Tackle Energy Injustice Across Africa

By | News

Africa’s energy challenge is often reduced to a numbers game. How many homes have electricity, how many communities use clean cooking fuels, or how many megawatts have been added to the grid. But beneath these statistics lies a far more complex reality. Across the continent, millions continue to experience an energy system that is unequal, exclusionary, and unjust.

 

A new study published in Cambridge Prisms: Energy Transitions argues that the greatest obstacle to energy justice is not simply a lack of infrastructure, but a failure to understand the deeper systems that perpetuate inequality.

 

In the paper titled “Systematised Assessment of Energy Injustice in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Sarah Odera and Prof Izael Da Silva (Strathmore University), Dr. Jiska De Groot, together with Dr. Debbie Sparks (University of Cape Town) and Dr. Dimitrios Mentis (World Resources Institute)  challenge conventional thinking by looking beyond the symptoms of energy injustice to uncover its root causes. Rather than simply documenting where inequalities exist, the researchers develop a practical framework that enables policymakers, governments, development partners, and the private sector to identify why these injustices persist and how they can be addressed.

 

Across sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 600 million people still lack access to electricity, while approximately 970 million people continue to cook using unsafe and polluting fuels. Yet the researchers argue that statistics alone reveal only part of the story.

 

For years, studies have documented the region’s energy poverty, unreliable electricity supply, unaffordable tariffs, and dependence on biomass fuels. What has remained largely unexplored are the underlying systems that create and sustain these inequalities.

 

This new study fills that gap by conducting one of the most comprehensive systematised reviews of energy justice research undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on more than a decade of scholarly literature published between 2013 and 2025, the researchers identify recurring patterns of injustice across the entire energy value chain, including the extraction of critical minerals used in renewable technologies, access to energy services and disposal of electronic waste, as well as cross-cutting matters such as financing and governance of energy systems, community participation during the development of projects and programs,

 

The review uncovers persistent patterns of injustice throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Electricity access remains deeply unequal between urban and rural communities, while many households connected to the grid still struggle to afford electricity services or experience frequent outages. Off-grid technologies such as solar home systems have expanded access but offer limited energy services and, in most cases, cannot support productive use.

 

The study also highlights how policies intended to accelerate clean cooking transitions can unintentionally disadvantage low-income households by restricting access to firewood and charcoal without providing affordable alternatives.

 

Beyond access, the research examines the burdens borne by communities living near large energy infrastructure projects, where displacement, environmental degradation, and inadequate compensation frequently accompany development. It also draws attention to injustices associated with the mining of critical minerals essential for renewable technologies and the growing challenge of electronic waste disposal across the continent.

 

Equally significant are the governance challenges identified throughout the review. Limited community participation, unequal access to finance, power imbalances between donors and recipient countries, corruption, and weak institutional capacity all emerge as recurring barriers to achieving energy justice.

 

One of the study’s most significant contributions is its challenge to conventional thinking. Rather than viewing energy injustice as isolated failures or individual policy shortcomings, the researchers demonstrate that it emerges from complex interactions among communities, governments, utilities, private companies, development partners, and financial institutions.

 

Communities may struggle to access electricity because they cannot afford grid connection fees, while governments lack the financing to subsidize them. These community members may therefore have to depend on solar home systems for electricity access, which often break down before their intended lifetimes. Private companies, however, may be unable to guarantee product quality because regulatory institutions lack testing facilities or enforcement mechanisms.

 

Governments, on the other hand, lack the funding or technical capacity to install testing facilities or implement standards.  Meanwhile, donors’ funding conditions shape national energy priorities in ways that do not always align with local realities. The result is an interconnected web of constraints where no single stakeholder is entirely responsible, yet everyone is affected. This study therefore demonstrates that, energy injustice is rarely caused by one decision. It is produced by systems.

 

Perhaps the paper’s most important achievement is the introduction of a new analytical tool. The Energy Injustice in Stakeholder Interactions Framework. Unlike traditional approaches that simply identify victims and perpetrators, this framework maps how injustices flow between different stakeholders while simultaneously identifying the institutional, financial, technical, and political constraints that shape their actions.

 

In doing so, it enables researchers, policymakers, governments, development partners, and private sector actors to identify the root causes of injustice. Importantly, the framework also highlights the difficult trade-offs that often accompany energy policy. Expanding electricity access can enhance equity, but it may also place additional strain on already constrained public finances. Restricting biomass use may protect forests while making cooking more difficult for vulnerable households. Large renewable energy projects may reduce carbon emissions while displacing local communities. These realities, the researchers argue, demonstrate that energy justice cannot be pursued through simplistic solutions.

 

While firmly grounded in scholarship, the study is ultimately practical in its ambition. The authors argue that achieving energy justice requires more than expanding electricity infrastructure. It demands inclusive decision-making, stronger institutions, improved financing mechanisms, meaningful community engagement, robust quality standards, and policies that recognize the realities faced by different stakeholders.

 

Ultimately, Africa’s energy future cannot be judged solely by the number of homes connected to electricity. It must also be measured by whether those systems are fair, inclusive, affordable, and responsive to the people they are meant to serve. Through this work, the research team offers both a compelling diagnosis of the continent’s energy challenges and a practical pathway toward a more just energy future.

 

The publication further strengthens Strathmore University’s growing reputation as a leader in applied energy research that addresses some of Africa’s most pressing development challenges.

 

Article written by Stephen Wakhu

Jul 01
0

Can Trust Be Rebuilt? Kenya Begins a Global Conversation with Regulators

By | News

Trust rarely disappears overnight. It erodes quietly. One broken promise. One opaque decision. One delayed response. One institution at a time.

 

Before citizens stop believing governments, they first stop believing the agencies that certify their food, regulate their banks, oversee elections, safeguard public health, and enforce the rules that keep society functioning. When trust falters in these institutions, the consequences ripple far beyond public perception, reshaping economies, weakening governance, and straining the very fabric of democracy.

 

It is against this backdrop that Kenya has embarked on an ambitious journey to place trust at the centre of global governance.

 

Ahead of the inaugural Global Trust Summit, scheduled for 22–23 October 2026 under the theme “Weaving Trust; Binding Strands for a Stronger Global Order,” the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, through the State Department for Foreign Affairs, hosted the first in a series of stakeholder roundtables, bringing together the country’s regulatory authorities to reflect on one pressing question: How do nations rebuild trust in an era defined by growing scepticism?

 

The summit, convened by the State Department for Foreign Affairs in partnership with Strathmore University, seeks to position Kenya as a global convener on restoring institutional trust through practical action rather than rhetoric.

 

Opening the dialogue, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, reminded participants that trust remains indispensable, even in society’s most difficult moments.

 

“Even in the most morbid of situations, trust is still critical,” he observed, pointing to recent public concerns surrounding Ebola as a reminder that citizens constantly evaluate whether they can believe what institutions tell them.

 

For Dr. Mudavadi, rebuilding confidence begins with openness. Institutions, he said, must communicate proactively, share information before speculation fills the vacuum, and invest in both technological capacity and human capital. Whether it is confidence in the country’s banking system, the credibility of elections, or the integrity of public health responses, strong regulatory institutions are the invisible infrastructure that sustains a functioning society.

 

“The value of any currency depends on the strength of the banking regulators,” he noted. “The strength of a democratic nation depends on how credible, integral, and open the election is.”

 

Ultimately, he argued, no regulatory framework can outperform the integrity of the people entrusted to implement it.

 

The strategic vision behind the initiative was outlined by Dr. Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who described the Global Trust Summit, supported by Ford Foundation and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, as Kenya’s contribution to addressing what has become a worldwide crisis of confidence.

 

“The world has been weaving towards a rules-based order,” he said, referencing Article 6 of the Treaty establishing the East African Community, which places mutual trust, good governance and accountability at the centre of regional cooperation.

 

Yet, today’s reality tells a different story. Across the globe, confidence in governments and institutions has fallen to historic lows. Research presented during the forum highlighted that more than half of the world’s population expresses little or no trust in government, while distrust increasingly translates into higher investment risks, declining voluntary compliance, growing enforcement costs, and weakened social cohesion. The trust deficit, participants heard, is no longer simply a reputational challenge; it has become an operational and economic one.

 

“We are building a coalition to advance the trust agenda at home, regionally, and globally.”

 

The conversation moved beyond policy into leadership during a fireside discussion moderated around practical experiences.

 

For Dr. Vincent Ogutu, Vice Chancellor, Strathmore University, trust begins long before communication strategies or public relations campaigns.

 

“Trust begins with competency to deliver,” he observed. Competence, however, is only the first ingredient. Honesty, benevolence, and leadership accountability complete the equation.

 

Leaders, he suggested, should be willing to “consume their own product” if they expect citizens to believe in it. Ultimately, regulators should aspire to build institutions so dependable that citizens instinctively respond, “This cannot happen in Kenya.”

 

If institutional performance forms one side of the trust equation, public participation forms the other.

 

Caroline Gaita, Executive Director of Mzalendo Trust, argued that co-creation and innovation are powerful catalysts for rebuilding confidence between governments and their citizens.

 

Democratic governance, she noted, depends upon timely access to information presented in language that ordinary citizens can understand. Simplifying public communication enables meaningful participation and strengthens democratic legitimacy.

 

Returning to the broader geopolitical context, Dr. Sing’Oei challenged African nations to reshape global narratives about the continent.

 

“The risk perception of trust in Africa is overwhelmed,” he said. “As Africans, we must tell our own stories.”

 

He described mutual trust as “the lubricant that sustains governance”, the invisible force that enables cooperation within nations and across borders.

 

That sentiment was echoed by Mathias Kamp, Country Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, who reminded participants that trust is neither automatic nor permanent.

 

“Are the right people selected for the right roles? Do we understand the system? Are we transparent enough?” he asked.

 

Trust, he concluded, is built patiently through competence, transparency, shared values, and consistent performance.

 

As preparations continue towards October’s Global Trust Summit, Kenya’s message is becoming increasingly clear.

 

Rebuilding trust is not the responsibility of governments alone. It demands collaboration among regulators, academia, civil society, business, and citizens alike. It requires institutions that communicate openly, leaders who model integrity, and systems that consistently deliver on their promises.

 

Article written by Stephen Wakhu