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{
    "id": 1155825,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1155825/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 148,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Amb. Ukur Yatani",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "0.8 per cent access through the formal channels was attributed to the progress made by Kenya to expand financial access through various channels including mobile money financial platforms. Access through informal channels, on the other hand, reduced from 6.1 per cent to 4.7 per cent, while the excluded population increased slightly from 11 per cent to 11.6 per cent during the same period. Over the last 15 years, an elaborate financial services ecosystem in Kenya has evolved from an initial basic money transfer innovation. In this period, access to financial services has increased from 26 per cent of adults in 2006, to the current 83 per cent. Further, the Government has rolled out mobile money, strengthened Real Time Gross Settlement System and established the regional payments systems at both the EAC and COMESA regions. In order to strengthen the National Payment System, the Central Bank of Kenya in February, 2022 launched the National Payment Strategy, 2022-2025 which seeks to realise a faster, secure, efficient and collaborative payment system that supports financial inclusion and innovations, while reinforcing the emergence of a 24-hour economy. In order to attract increased financing and investment into Kenya, the Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) Authority has put in place the required operating framework and Regulations. With the necessary framework now in place, and the official opening slated later in the year, NIFC will be expected to be a key catalyst in supporting economic growth. The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company continues to play a leading role in the delivery of Affordable Housing in Kenya. I am pleased to note that since September 2020, KMRC has disbursed over Ksh2 billion to seven primary mortgage lenders and is currently processing an additional Ksh7 billion. To provide a sustainable source of funding and to complement the existing credit lines, the Company whose bond was recently listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, successfully issued its first Corporate Bond of Ksh1.4 billion under a Medium-Term Note Program of Ksh10.5 billion. Since the launch of the Credit Guarantee Scheme in December 2020, total loans extended to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises under this scheme had surpassed Ksh2.2 billion by December 2021. This has expanded access to affordable credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to 45 counties across 11 different sectors of the economy. To enhance coverage of the Scheme, additional Participating Financial Intermediaries will be brought on board. Further, the Government will seek support of development partners to increase the scheme’s capital from the current Ksh4 billion to Ksh10 billion over the medium term. To deepen capital markets, the Government is undertaking a review of the legal and regulatory framework to address emerging issues in the capital markets space. These include, among others, aspects on collective investment schemes and investment based crowd funding. In addition, the Government is installing a new Central Securities Depository System at the Central Bank of Kenya to support planned reforms in secondary trading of Government bonds. To enable more investment advisors to offer investment advisory services, I propose to amend the Capital Markets Act to expand the spectrum of persons who can act as investment advisors. This will allow single director companies and partnerships to be licensed as investment advisors. The payroll for the public service pension continues to grow and had more than 300,000 pensioners and dependents as at December 2021. The National Treasury will roll out, the much awaited re-engineered pension management system in the course of the financial year. The system will offer an end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning solution in the management and processing of pension benefits. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}