The Brief can confidently relay a number of highlights from Kenya’s 2019 budget, delivered today, by Henry Rotich, Treasury’s cabinet secretary.
Top on the highlights is the government’s intention to appropriate 14.6% of the entire budget for the purposes of actualizing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda. Under that segment, 10.5 billion will be directly injecting towards the construction of affordable houses. The public servants’ mortgage scheme will receive Sh2.3 billion while the National Housing Development Fund was allocated Sh5.0 billion.
Key drivers of the Big Four Agenda will get a total of 76.7 billion while enablers will get Sh374.1 billion.
In other highlights, the government has shared its intention to amplify its focus on agriculture and associated sectors.
The government intends to revitalize its policies, regulatory framework as well as subsidies to farmers to support self-reliance mechanisms.
Sh3 billion has been set aside for the coffee cherry revolution fund to implement reforms in coffee sub-sector
In the wake of coffee payments, the government has announced plans to advance coffee farmers their proceeds at a 3% interest rate.
The government has also waived a 2.1 Billion loan owed by sugar cane farmers in an effort to reawaken the sugar belt. It has also set aside 700 million towards the sugar farmer’s activities in this financial year. The government has also set Sh 2 billion to support national value chain initiatives.
All irrigations projects in the country will access Sh 7.9 Billion
Other agricultural based activities set to benefit from this year’s budget are crop diversification, receiving Sh 1 billion. This provision sets its eyes towards reviving the miraa industry. The fishing sector has received Sh.8oo million set towards rehabilitating landing sites. Dairy farmers will get 700 million for the purposes of commercialization small-holder farmers.
