Musalia Mudavadi

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 61 to 70 of 955.

• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me also focus on reducing the cost of cooking gas. We have moved swiftly to end the monopoly in the sourcing and supply of cooking gas which inevitably results in price inflation. The Government has opened up this sector by reviewing the policy to allow for competition by setting stage for additional players to be licensed to set up Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) facilities. This will cut the cost of handling and evacuating gas from the ships to the mainland. Hence, it will allow the dealers to transfer the cost reliefs to the consumer. view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me touch on how we are addressing the depreciation of the Kenya Shilling against other currencies. The Government is implementing sound exchange rate policies to stabilise the local currency and manage the foreign exchange reserves in an effort to mitigate the impact of currency fluctuations. As I noted earlier in my statement, in response to the question, the official foreign exchange reserves have declined from USD7.9 million which is equivalent to 4.4 months of import cover as at December 2022 to USD7.1 million which is equivalent to four months of import cover as at February 2023. The usable foreign ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Let me now highlight some of the immediate steps that the Government is taking to stabilise the economy and set the country on a growth trajectory. They are several but I will just try and pick out a few. As the House will appreciate, the measures to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living, as well as reduce the cost of basic commodities as I have enumerated above, will invariably also result in a stabilised economy. I will, therefore, take this opportunity to highlight other measures aimed at stabilising the economy. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Firstly, the Government remains committed to programmes jointly formulated with its development partners through which we anticipate to get much needed Budget support. I believe when the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning will speak to Parliament in a few weeks’ time, he will elaborate this. We will continue bolstering economic resilience by pursuing prudent micro-economic policies geared at reducing debt vulnerabilities and supporting sustainable and inclusive development. view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Through the fiscal consolidation programme, we aim to continue with our revenue mobilisation and expenditure prioritisation policies geared towards economic recovery. This will support sustained, rapid and inclusive economic growth and safeguard livelihoods, thus creating a fiscal space for the implementation of Government priority programmes. With inflation remaining above the target band, our monetary policy will remain focused on maintaining price stability by resisting the pass-through of second round effects from higher food and fuel prices to other prices and keeping inflationary pressures well anchored. view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Over the medium-term, inflation is expected to return to the midpoint of 5 per cent of our target band which is 2.5-7.5 per cent. The Central Bank of Kenya on its part has proactively tightened its monetary policy stands to prevent second round effects and keep inflation expectations anchored. The CBK rate was raised to 9.5 per cent in March 2023. This is expected to gradually reduce inflation in the coming months. The exchange rate flexibility has worked as a shock absorber in the face of variety of external shocks and will continue to do so to help support our ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I will respond not necessarily in any specific order. First of all, I want to mention that some of the immediate steps the Government has taken to try and deal with the crisis is waiver of duty on some of the food products that are coming in during this period that we are going through. The records we have are that in this process of waiver, the Government has waived close to Ksh10 billion worth of food that is coming in. What is critical is that we have a record – although I may not have ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Secondly, we are making it very clear that it is our intention to focus more on concessional borrowing where we are borrowing externally and shy away from commercial borrowing. This is particularly critical as we move along. The other thing is that we have to cut back and focus on our real priorities. You will recall that in the very early days of President Ruto’s Government, he made a pronouncement that he was cutting back about Ksh300 billion of expenditure programmes that were not regarded as priority expenditure. So, this programme of both fiscal consolidation of those that require enhanced ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, there is a question on how long it will take to recover. I want to be very honest to this House and the Kenyan people. Having had an opportunity to serve as a Minister for Finance before, in a moment of crisis, I want to state to the Kenyan people that we are in this for a long haul. The circumstances that we are in cannot be wished away like instant coffee. I have said this a number of times. We are going to focus on priorities, and have them sustained consistently and religiously. From a personal perspective, ... view
• 26 Apr 2023 in National Assembly: Hon. Speaker, there are some questions that have been raised about the non-tariff barriers. I may not have an immediate answer, but I think it is a very valid point. I will take it up with my colleagues in the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Public Works, so that we can have a holistic response to this at a later date. It is true that the non-tariff barriers are not just an obstacle to international trade, especially when they are in the arteries, but also to the local trade in the country. I do not know whether there is anything ... view