Musalia Mudavadi

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1 to 10 of 911.

• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Let me just quickly take this opportunity to thank the Members of Parliament for according us an opportunity to respond on matters of Government Policy in this august and distinct House. I will go straight to dealing with the Question at hand. I will seek your indulgence to try and pick up this Question in a matter that will help in the sequencing of the response but I definitely will deal with all the issues that have been raised by the Hon. Member. I shall accordingly, therefore, take up number two of his Question first, that ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Fiscal distress was also reflected in the pressure of the public debt. Public debt consumes a substantial portion of our Budget. In fact, Members may wish to note that interest cost is now the single largest expenditure item in our recurrent budget, exceeding the wage bill and the county equitable share. That is interest payment alone. Our total debt—and this is very critical because we want to lay the facts bare to the nation—is Ksh9.4 trillion, against a debt ceiling of Ksh10 trillion. This comprises external debt of Ksh4.8 trillion and domestic debt of Ksh4.5 trillion, as at the end ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: The cumulative debt service to external creditors as at the end of March stood at Ksh312.6 billion. This comprises a principal of Ksh197 billion and interest payment of Ksh115.7 billion. The total outstanding national government pending bills as at 31st December 2022 amounted to Ksh481 billion, compared to Ksh467.7 billion as at the end of 31st December 2021. This comprises Ksh400.7 billion, that is 83 per cent, from State corporations and Ksh80.3 billion from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Another factor that fuelled the problem is the exchange rate. Since the pandemic, the exchange rate has helped absorb external shocks and preserve our competitiveness. However, the Kenyan Shilling has since depreciated against major international and regional currencies. It exchanged at an average of Ksh134 per USD in April 2023 compared to Ksh117.29 in June 2022. The volatility in global financial markets has surged amidst significant strengthening of the USD against major currencies and rapid changes in policy stands in advanced economies in response to inflationary pressures. In addition, domestic foreign exchange (FOREX) demands went up on higher global prices ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me also point out that the official foreign exchange reserves have declined from Ksh7,969.5 million, that is 4.4 months of import cover as at December 2022. The four months of import cover as at February, 2023 declined to USD7.1 million but the usable FOREX reserves remained adequate at USD6,531 million, that is 3.63 months of import cover, as at 19th April 2023. This still meets the Central Bank of Kenya statutory requirements to endeavour to maintain at least four months of import cover. Together, these developments have significantly impacted liquidity in the domestic FOREX market. In particular, the interbank ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me also touch on particular causes of the escalation of food prices from 2022 to 2023. The country has experienced a prolonged period of drought over the last two-and-a-half years, from 2020 to 2023, which has been recorded as the worst drought in 40 years. The performance of the 2022 long rains was poor in parts of the country, which was followed by crop failure in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) during the short rain season. The anticipated relief from October, November and December 2022 short rains season was not realised except for pulses due to the prolonged ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, it is, therefore, important to note that the onset of the current rainy season and associated flash floods has also occasioned further loss of livestock of unknown value. A planned rapid assessment will determine the actual cause. That means the Government is planning to have a rapid assessment to determine the actual loss. Extreme climate change events, growing population, rising food prices and other environmental stressors have emerged as key drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition. It is further acknowledged that the supply chain disruptions of 2020 to 2022 due to negative global events, that is, the COVID-19 ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me now pick up on what measures the Government has taken to cushion Kenyans from the high costs of living occasioned by these rising prices of basic commodities. The first 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. view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: step is to focus on enhancing food security. The Government aims to achieve food self- sufficiency and reduce imports through increased production and productivity of all staple food crops including stepping up production of oil seed crops such as sunflower and sesame. The March-April-May 2023 rainy season is predicted to be normal. We thank God for that. We intend to maximise our production potential for the rain-dependent-grain producing areas. The first significant harvest of grain is expected to enter the market in August 2023. view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: We also have some short-term measures to address the food security situation. The Government has taken the long-term sustainable approach of resolving the cost-of-living predicament by subsidising production instead of consumption. However, there are a number of immediate interventions that are aimed at short-term solutions to the high cost of living and at the same time build momentum for the long-term approach. Key to this is the fertiliser subsidy programme. During the 2022/2023 short rains season, the Government availed 3.l million bags of fertiliser worth Ksh3.5 billion to improve farmers’ uptake and agricultural yields. In the current long rains season, ... view