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{
    "id": 51832,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/51832/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 224,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Minister",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, it should be recalled that the maximum wage was increased by 10 per cent just last year. The Government has agreed to further increase the minimum wage to be announced on Labour Day. Such increment should have come after two years but we will do it now to address the sharp rise in the cost of living. Going forward, the Government intends to shift from “cost of living” wage adjustments to productivity-based wage adjustments. Resources are being provided by the Ministry of Labour to set up a productivity centre. Mr. Speaker, Sir, creating jobs is equally important. Therefore, the Government will ensure that Kenyan industries remain competitive. Moreover, we need to create jobs immediately, particularly for the youth. After due diligence and in consideration of views of Members of Parliament and Kenyans, the Government has decided to relaunch the Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV) Programme and continue with most of the Economic Stimulus Programmes (ESP). The KKV and the Kenya Youth Empowerment Programme will be implemented jointly with the World Bank. Under this programme, the World Bank is providing US$60 million. Out of this, US$43 million is funding 1,200 labour intensive projects at district levels across the country. This will employ 190,000 youth in the 18 to 35 age bracket. Another US15 million will fund an internship programme for 16,000 urban youth from the 18 to 29 age bracket. Mr. Speaker, Sir, to address the adverse implications of high oil prices in the long term, the Government will fast-track the development of the Nairobi Urban commuter rail. This will greatly reduce the cost of transportation within and around Nairobi. It will also take a lot of motor traffic off our roads. We will also introduce a mass transport system in and around Nairobi. Furthermore, the Government will substantially and immediately strengthen our social protection programmes. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, the Ministry of Special Programmes and the Ministry of Agriculture have such programmes in place. A comprehensive targeted food subsidy programme will be introduced to complement these programmes and buttress the Government’s social protection initiative. The joint GoK/Oxfam/World Food Programme pilot programme on urban food subsidy based on cash transfers has been successfully completed. Five thousand families in Korogocho and Mukuru Kayaba and 2,500 families in Mathare were beneficiaries of this pilot programme over a period of eight months. Each family received, by M-pesa, Kshs1,500 per month for food. A memorandum on the implementation of a comprehensive targeted food subsidy is already before the Cabinet to support the food insecure in urban areas. Once this proposal is approved by the Cabinet, the Government will expand the pilot programmes to be providing Kshs2,000 per month to over 100,000 families in informal settlements in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. In order to assure long term sustainability of this and other social protection programmes, Treasury has been instructed to propose a package of tax measures that will be sufficient to fund these programmes in the long run but also that will not impact the poor negatively. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as our ordinary citizens suffer from high costs of living, we in the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary must share the burden. We need to be frugal and prudent in our expenditure. Thank you."
}