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{
"id": 293449,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/293449/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Githae",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
"speaker": {
"id": 159,
"legal_name": "Robinson Njeru Githae",
"slug": "robinson-githae"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to present the Budget Statement for the Fiscal Year 2012/2013. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is my privilege and honour to present to this august House my first Budget Statement since becoming the Minister for Finance. May I, at the onset, take this early opportunity to thank His Excellency the President for the trust that he has bestowed on me to spearhead the management of the economic policy of our beloved country. I am equally indebted to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs, the Speaker, Cabinet colleagues and hon. Members of this House for their wise guidance and continued support to the Treasury. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this year’s Budget is the last one that will be presented to this House during the tenure of hon. Mwai Kibaki as the President of the Republic of Kenya. It is, therefore, instructive to reflect very briefly on the achievements that the Government has made in delivering its priorities since 2003, when he assumed the leadership of this nation. As outlined during His Excellency’s State of Nation Address on 24th April this year, President Kibaki’s Administration over the 2003-2007 period and subsequently the Grand Coalition Government, has implemented several very bold economic policies and structural reforms that have significantly improved the welfare of Kenyans. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me highlight some of the notable achievements. They include, among others, the following: 1. Economic recovery with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rising from as low as 0.8 per cent in 2002 to 7 per cent in 2007. The domestic and external shocks of 2008 and 2009 adversely affected growth but, following the return of peace in our country, our economy rebounded in 2010 and remained resilient in 2011 despite the challenges that we went through. We now project a growth of 5.2 per cent for 2012. 2. Increased the number of children going to school under the Free Primary Education Programme from 5.9 million in 2003 to 10 million in 2012. 3. Provided tuition fees for two million more children in secondary schools and increased the number of students joining university three folds. 4. Increased the number of people accessing ARV drugs to 350,000, up from just 10,000 in 2003; and distributed close to 20 million mosquito nets forestalling a malaria pandemic. 5. Tarmacked over 2,700 kilometres of roads, rehabilitated over 4,000 kilometres of road and connected to the national electricity grid more than 1.7 million Kenyans, up from 700,000 in the 2002. 6. Disbursed over Kshs100 billion under the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), which financed the construction of 1,000 health centres, 10,000 classrooms, numerous roads, security posts as well as water and fish projects throughout the country."
}