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{
    "id": 1533713,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1533713/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1027,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "This Administration came into office in 2022 when the inflation and exchange rates were very high. Inflation rate in February 2025 was at an average of about 3.5 per cent as opposed to the 9.6 per cent in October 2022, when this Administration came into office. This has not been easy to achieve. This is as a result of a lot of concerted effort to reduce the cost of commodities, especially the food items. The massive investment that has been done in the agricultural sector has, indeed, paid off for our country. Today, we are not only food secure, but the food security has also ensured that inflation and exchange rates have stabilised. Even our interest rates have begun coming down. We have seen the rush by commercial banks to reduce interest rates. The 9-days treasury bills have declined from 15.7 per cent in December of 2023 to the current rate of about 9.6 per cent in February of this year. Our exchange rate has come down from a high of Ksh160 a year ago to an average of Ksh128 to Ksh130 to the US Dollar. In the last one month, the Kenyan Shilling has stabilised at about Ksh128 to Ksh129. This year's BPS basically highlights the progress that we have made in the implementation of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) that was anchored on the Fourth Medium-Term Plan of our Vision 2030. That tells us that we continue being consistent in pursuit of the Vision 2030 and ensuring that all our Medium-Term Plans fit into the bigger goal of Vision of 2030. I thank our Deputy Speaker for her leadership of the Liaison Committee that considered the BPS together with the Departmental Committees. When the National Treasury submitted this BPS this year, Members will note that it was prepared in a backdrop of an economy that is rising, steadily recovering and stabilising. Indeed, we can now proudly say that our economy has stabilised. The debt challenge that we had is also being addressed very well. I am happy that even this BPS has laid very good or special emphasis on fiscal consolidation to reduce our public debt vulnerabilities, while providing fiscal space to deliver on essential goods and services especially by ensuring that we have adequate funds to roll out the development agenda that we promised the people of Kenya. I am happy that even as we assert that we have stabilised our economy, we are also opening up the fiscal space to roll out development programmes. I must also use this opportunity to thank and recognise the efforts I have seen from the Office of the Controller of Budget. Recently, we said that there are issues in the Controller of Budget Office in terms of accountability. When they do well, we must also recognise them. I recognise the work that I saw her roll out yesterday in establishing a framework on approval processes that will ensure counties and county governments are able to access money and the approval process is seamless. The criteria on which approvals are made from that Office should be clear so that governors and county government officers are not extorted by officers in that Office. It is a fact of life that extortion has been going on. I am glad yesterday I saw that action has been taken following the calls that we made in this House. We should also ensure that there is a criterion that is set in terms of approval for development work, so that we do not spend all our money on recurrent expenditure both in the county level of government and also in the national Government. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am sure towards the end of this week, without anticipating debate, we will work on the Division of Revenue Bill. It will be coming for the First Reading before we commence the short recess. These are some of the issues that our county governments will look into."
}