Henry Rotich

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1 to 10 of 251.

• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, Hon. Members and fellow Kenyans, today I present to the country the highlights of the Budget for the Financial Year 2019/2020. I do this in performing my fiduciary responsibility as the guardian of the nation’s finances and in fulfilment of the requirement of Section 40 of the PFM Act, 2012 and Standing Order 241 of the National Assembly. His Excellency the President, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, has, on several occasions, including most recently during the 2019 State of the Nation Address, set out an ambitious socio-economic development agenda that speaks to the Kenya we want. This has been captured ... view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: shared economic growth, job creation at unprecedented pace and reduced poverty on a sustained basis. The Budget for 2019/2020 lays a strong foundation for achieving the President’s Big Four Agenda while at the same time addressing the following challenges facing our economy: 1. Creating an enabling environment for businesses and in particular for the micro, small and medium enterprises in order to accelerate the growth of our economy and create more jobs for our youth. 2. The need to be prudent and efficient in our spending. 3. The need to mobilise domestic resources to fund priority projects and programmes. 4. ... view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: addition, we will continue with our ambitious business reform initiative in order to reduce the cost of doing business and encourage private sector innovation and entrepreneurship. Our current ranking of 61 out of 180 countries in the World Bank Doing Business Indicators is not only the best ranking we have had so far, but is also an indication of our resolve to improve our business climate and become a top investment destination. Our aim in the next few years is to be among the top 50 nations in the World by continuing to strengthen our reform agenda. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, last year, I amended the Income Tax Act, to provide for a deduction of 30 per cent of the total electricity by manufacturers as rebate subject to the conditions to be set by the Ministry of Energy. The Ministry of Energy, in consultation with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperative Development, has now developed the framework that will be used so that manufacturers can enjoy this incentive. We expect this incentive to reduce the cost of electricity to manufacturers by about 20 per cent and to make our products competitive in the region. This should spur economic ... view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, the large accumulation of VAT refunds with the KRA arising from VAT on zero-rated supplies has impacted negatively on the cash flow and liquidity of our manufacturers and the business community at large. In order to fast-track the return of these funds to the rightful owners, I have constituted a team at the National Treasury to quickly validate the outstanding refunds with a view to clearing them within the next two months. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, in addition, there has also been a large accumulation of VAT refunds at the KRA, which emanate from the 6 per cent VAT Withholding Tax. We are currently working on the modalities for settling these obligations and I intend to engage the business community immediately in order to come up with a workable solution. Going forward, we intend to lower the VAT Withholding Tax to a level that will eliminate the need for KRA to make refunds. I will be making proposals to lower the VAT Withholding rate under the tax proposals later in this Budget Statement. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, on the pending bills, we have reviewed existing pending bills as directed by His Excellency the President during this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations. In addition to the payments we have made so far, we have prioritised payment of Kshs10.9 billion of the verified pending bills, which will be paid before the end of this month. This should eliminate most pending bills owed to the youth, women and persons living with disabilities under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunity (AGPO). The clearance of this backlog should improve liquidity to our suppliers and contractors and thereby boost our economy. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a critical role in wealth and employment creation. We have listened carefully to their concerns which include limited access to credit, entrepreneurial skills and markets, as well as a cumbersome regulatory and working environment. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, to facilitate faster clearance of cargo, His Excellency the President in May 2019, directed the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, in collaboration with other Government agencies, to ensure all import and export consolidators undergo strict vetting, registration and gazettement before they are allowed to operate at all the ports of entry and clearance. This will reduce delays in cargo clearance into the country for most The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. view
• 13 Jun 2019 in National Assembly: small cargo importers operating under the consolidators, reduce tax evasion and curb the illegal importation of contraband and counterfeits goods. view