From Standard Media

Kenya and Singapore have a common history: They were both declared independent from Britain in 1963. But that is as far as their similarities can go.

Today, there is a gaping difference between the two countries. The Southeast Asian island city-state was faced with a rapidly growing, poor and uneducated population living in slums.

With precarious markets, small land, water scarcity and few natural resources, it struggled along until 1965 when it became an independent nation from Malaysia, with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in control.

The benevolent dictator endorsed a free-market state, attracting prominent multinational corporations. Two decades later, Singapore’s economy grew by 800 per cent. The average income per person appreciated more than fourfold while families living under poverty dropped to about 0.3 per cent.

Read more at standardmedia.co.ke