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{
    "id": 1001003,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1001003/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 236,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Amb. Ukur Yatani",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, currently, imports by the Kenya Defence Forces and the National Police Service are charged Import Declaration Fee and Railway Development Levy. These charges reduce budgetary allocations of these institutions. I have, therefore, proposed to exempt from both the Import Declaration Fee and Railway Development Levy on all goods, including materials, supplies, equipment, machinery and motor vehicles imported for the official use by the Kenya Defence Forces and the National Police Service. The Government has been encouraging investments under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), particularly in the road sector. To further such partnerships, I propose to amend the Public Roads Toll Act to enable the persons who enter into an agreement with the Government to collect road tolls on roads constructed and managed under such agreements. The Budget I have presented today involved making hard decisions in the quest to move our country forward. Faced with limited resources, the balancing has not been easy. We have channeled resources to cushion citizens and businesses from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as interventions to support economic recovery. I firmly believe that the measures spelt out in this Budget will create more jobs and transform the lives of Kenyans. At the heart of these measures is our commitment to protect the livelihoods of citizens and support recovery of businesses. I believe that, working together, we will withstand the current storm as we have done in the past. At this juncture, allow me to express my gratitude to His Excellency the President for his leadership and wise counsel in the management of the economic and financial policies of this country. I would also like to thank my fellow Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and their staff for contributions to the Financial Year 2020/2021 Budget process. For their support during the preparation and approval of this Budget, my sincere appreciation goes to the Hon. Speakers of both the National Assembly and the Senate and their respective Clerks for overseeing the approval of submissions on the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2020/2021, and the Leaders of the Majority Party, especially Hon. Aden Duale of the National Assembly as well as the Leader of the Majority Party of the Senate, who is Hon. Pogishio, for their relentless support to get most of the legislative proposals on finance matters passed through Parliament. I also thank Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee led by the Chairman and the Parliamentary Budget Office for the constructive and comprehensive engagements in the approval process for the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2020/2021. I thank Members of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning led by the Chairman for their commitment and diligence in the approval of various tax law proposals during the year. I thank all Members of the various departmental committees of the National Assembly and the Senate for their co-operation and support. I also thank the management and staff of the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Central Bank of Kenya, all financial sector regulators and the various agencies under the National Treasury and Planning for their contribution and advice during the budget process. We thank the Commission on Revenue Allocation and its chairperson for their contributions; the management and staff of the Ministry of National Treasury and Planning under the able leadership of the Principal Secretary, Dr. Julius Muia; the officers who tirelessly worked for long hours. That includes most weekends and holidays, notwithstanding the constraining COVID-19 environment. They worked to ensure that all budgetary and economic policy documents for the Financial Year 2020/2021 are produced, not only timely, but are also of high quality. These are the unsung heroes of this nation and I appreciate their extra effort in this exercise."
}