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{
    "id": 1438651,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1438651/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 139,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Hon. Speaker, it is my honour and privilege to present to Hon. Members of this august House and the people of Kenya the second Budget of the Kenya Kwanza Administration under the leadership of H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto, the President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. This Budget reaffirms the priority policies and strategies for achieving the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) that is progressively improving the livelihoods of Kenyans. This Statement is presented in the fulfilment of the requirements of Standing Order 241 of the National Assembly and Section 40 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, which requires that the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to make a public pronouncement of the budget policy highlights and revenue-raising measures for the National Government. Hon. Speaker, since 2020, our economy has been unwinding from the effects of negative and persistent global and domestic shocks that have pushed the economy to its lowest activity level. Those shocks include the COVID-19 pandemic, the global supply chain disruptions, the effects of climate change from prolonged drought in 2021 and 2022, and even the floods of 2023/2024. Measures to mitigate those negative shocks and structural reforms under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation have been successful in ameliorating those effects. The efforts have reduced the cost of living and created vibrancy in the economy that has shown signs of strong economic recovery. Hon. Speaker, in several regions, Kenya has sunk into abject poverty largely because markets in their segments were interfered with or were not properly governed. The failure to protect and regulate the market disrupted their development and, more importantly, curtailed further investments in sectors such as coffee, sugar, cotton and pyrethrum. The institutional failure problems pushed policy to fail. In this context, the BETA interventions at the bottom of the pyramid are targeted to ensure that the markets are properly governed to work for everybody, especially the poor. Hon. Speaker, for Kenya to transition from the middle-income status of the economy to an upper middle-income status, as envisioned in the Kenya Vision 2030, two driving factors are important. We must develop our human capital capability and increase production and productivity. The Kenya economy is susceptible to the ravaging impact of climate change, as demonstrated in the 2021/2022 severe drought which had not been seen in the last 40 years, and the events of floods that have led to massive loss of property and lives. The most important thing is that those shocks have shifted budgetary resources from economic activity to saving lives and rebuilding damaged infrastructure. This calls for urgent and decisive interventions, especially on our supply side, which I will later address in this Statement. Hon. Speaker, our fiscal policy is geared towards supporting BETA through continued implementation of a fiscal consolidation plan that is designed towards slowing down the growth of public debt without compromising economic growth. The fiscal consolidation efforts will continue to target domestic revenue mobilisation and rationalisation of spending through improved public financial management, while reallocating resources in priority areas. In this year’s budget process, we accorded Kenyans an opportunity to share their views on how to address the economic challenges that are facing the country. Kenyans responded to our call and requested the Government to address through this Budget the following: 1. The devastating effects of the ongoing floods. 2. Taxation concerns and cost of living. 3. The level of unemployment. 4. Protection of the poor and the vulnerable. 5. Reduction of wastage in public expenditures at the national and county Governments’ level. 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."
}