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{
    "id": 1156030,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1156030/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 145,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Amb. Ukur Yatani",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "of households connected to electricity to more than 8.3 million today compared to 2.3 million in 2013. The international oil prices have been rapidly rising for close to a year without any sign of easing. Conscious of the adverse impact of the high oil prices on all sectors of the economy, the Government has taken deliberate steps to subsidise pump prices through the Petroleum Development Levy Fund. This action has stabilised pump prices and consequently prices of goods and services. The Government remains committed to provide adequate resources to mitigate the rising cost of fuel. Hon. Speaker, in its pursuit to increase productivity while staying on the economic transformation trajectory, the Government has sustained the pace of investment in all sectors. The agricultural sector remains the largest contributor to our GDP and a priority under the Big Four Agenda on food and nutritional security. The Government has continued to support large scale production of staple food, expanded irrigation schemes, increased access to agricultural inputs, and support smallholder farmers to sustainably produce and market various commodities. In addition, the Government introduced the Warehouse Receipt System to reduce post-harvest losses. The price of fertiliser has more than doubled in the last one year, and is still rising. To safeguard food security in the country, the Government has allocated Kshs3 billion to subsidise farmers during the current planting season. We propose to allocate a further Kshs2.7 billion in the Financial Year 2022/2023 to cushion farmers while sustaining food production. To strengthen land and property ownership, the Government has issued over 5.3 million title deeds over the last eight years. The Government has also fully digitised land records in Nairobi registry under the National Land Information Management System referred as the Ardhi Sasa programme to improve accessibility of land records and lowering the cost of land transactions. Hon. Speaker, Kenya’s emergent oceans and blue economy will remain a key growth engine for the country. In the last five years, the Government has heavily invested in measures to expand marine fisheries, grow marine transport and logistics, and establishing Kenya as source of quality and cost-effective labour. These measures have resulted in opening of the Lamu Port, reopening of the Port of Kisumu, establishment of nascent shipyards at the Port of Mombasa and Kisumu, revival of the Kenya National Shipping Line, construction of an ultra-modern tuna fish hub at Liwatoni Mombasa, amongst others. With the proposed interventions, the sector is on course to be among the top five key contributors to the Kenyan economy and a game changer in enhancement of the socio-economic fortunes of Kenyans, living next to our marine resources. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government’s strategy to revive the tourism sector has yielded positive results. The earnings from the sector had increased by 74 per cent from Kshs94 billion in 2013 to Kshs163.6 billion in 2019. Tourist arrivals had also increased from 1.5 million to 2.0 million during the same period. In 2020, these numbers significantly declined due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the health sector, hospital bed capacity increased from 56,069 in 2013 to 82,291 in 2020. This increase is attributed to over 1,912 new hospitals constructed across the country by the national and county governments. Further, the introduction of free maternal healthcare program dubbed “Linda Mama” initiated in 2016 has led to the decline of maternal mortality rate by 26 percent. This programme alongside the ‘’Beyond Zero Campaign’’ led by the First Lady has significantly contributed to the improvement of maternal healthcare in the country. To address the growing cancer burden over the last decade, the Government has formulated appropriate policies and allocated sufficient resources to guide the delivery of cancer testing and treatment services. Some of these 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."
}