Kenya has tabled the budget estimates for its 2018/2019 fiscal
year with the focus on laying a strong foundation for the achievement of
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s grand plan of creating jobs, reducing
poverty and inequality and improving the general living conditions of
the citizens during his final term in office.
Last week
Kenya’s parliamentary budget committee recommended an increase in the
cash positions of key institutions responsible for fighting graft,
maintaining security and auditing spending of public finances as part of
efforts to improve governance and reduce the cost of doing business in
the country.
The committee chaired by Kikuyu MP Kimani
Ichung’wah also recommended an upward revision in the budgets of the
Ministry of Energy, State departments of Housing, Infrastructure,
Irrigation, Agriculture and Research.
Expenditure pressure
The
Jubilee administration is seeking to take measures under the Agenda
Four to boost manufacturing, enhance food security, create affordable
housing and achieve universal health coverage to boost growth, create
jobs and ultimately promote inclusive growth.
As a
result, the government has prioritised programmes and reforms to be
implemented over the next five years (2018-22) to achieve the grand plan
which will also form part of the legacy of President Kenyatta’s
administration.
But faced with mounting expenditure
pressure and falling revenue collections National Treasury Cabinet
Secretary Henry Rotich has extended an olive branch to the private
sector to implement the mega infrastructure projects under the Big Four
Agenda jointly.
On June 14, Mr Rotich will announce the
taxation measures he intends to take to fund a record Ksh3.07 trillion
($30.7 billion) budget for the 2018/2019 fiscal year compared with
Ksh2.6 trillion ($26 billion) in the current fiscal year, which will
include borrowing an additional Ksh562.74 billion ($5.62 billion).
Kenya’s
debt burden estimated at over Ksh4 trillion has been an issue of
concern to the parliamentarians and to the international financial
institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
This year, debt-related payments (interest and redemption payments) alone amount to Ksh870.6 billion ($8.7 billion).
According
to the budget estimates tabled in parliament last week the Budget
committee recommended an additional Ksh1.25 billion ($12.5 million) to
be allocated towards the strategic initiatives of the Agenda Four under
the sub-programme budget formulation, coordination and management while
Ksh75 million ($750,000) be allocated to the Ethics and Anti-corruption
Commission for the acquisition of headquarters and operating expenses.
An
additional Ksh30 million ($300,000) has be allocated towards
construction of police housing in the state department of Interior while
Ksh200 million ($2 million) allocated to the Office of the deputy
inspector general Kenya Police Service’s policing services programme.
An
additional Ksh100 million ($1 million) has been allocated for criminal
investigation services while am extra Ksh8.7 billion ($87 million)
allocated for the repair of the infrastructure destroyed by recent
flooding.
The Office of the Auditor General will
receive an additional Ksh1 billion ($10 million) to cater for personnel
emoluments, outsourcing of audits and other consultancies bringing its
total allocation to Ksh6 billion ($60 million).
Conducive environment
Kenya
hopes to maintain its investments in programmes that will create a
conducive business environment for investment and job creation and
provide 500,000 affordable housing units to the poor.
Investments
in the Big Four areas are expected to transform lives by creating
much-needed jobs for Kenyans, improve living conditions, lower the cost
of living and reduce poverty and inequality.
A total
of Ksh68 billion ($680 million) has been allocated to the State
department for Energy, with Ksh13 billion going towards power generation
and Ksh53 billion ($530 million) towards power transmission and
distribution.
The state department for Irrigation will
receive Ksh17.97 billion ($179.7 million) while Ksh5.56 billion ($55.6
million) will go to the state department for Agriculture and Research.
Industry
has been given Ksh6.91 billion ($69.1 million) while the National
Intelligence Service gets Ksh31 billion ($310 million).
Others
are Ksh24 billion ($240 million) towards ICT infrastructure
development, Ksh2 billion ($20 million) to youth training and
development, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Ksh2.91
billion ($29.1 million), Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Ksh2.92
billion ($29.2 million) and Ksh32 billion ($320 million) to the
department for housing, urban, development and public works.
Domestically,
the economy is exposed to challenges such as adverse weather conditions
and public expenditure pressures, especially recurrent expenditure.
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