- He has allocated Sh1 billion in support of fertilizer subsidies for tea farmers.
- Electricity prices to drop 30% by December 24.
Image: MERCY MUMO
President Uhuru Kenyatta has projected that the country's economy to grow by six per cent this year.
The President was addressing citizens during the Mashujaa Day ceremony at Wang’uru Stadium, Kirinyaga County.
“While the global economy contracted by an average of 3.6 per cent last year, we still managed to grow our economy by 0.3 per cent over the same period. And this year, it is projected to grow by 6 per cent despite the Covid-19 challenges,” said Uhuru.
To aid this economic growth, Uhuru announced a new stimulus programme targeting the key product and service sectors.
He has for instance directed the National Treasury to allocate Sh1 billion in support of fertilizer subsidy for tea farmers.
“This sector has been the predatory grounds for cartels for decades, but it has now been liberated and its performance has started to improve,” said Uhuru.
He added that it is expected that tea farmers will receive a healthy bonus at the end of June 2022, signaling a return to the good old days of “Chai Bora; Pesa Bora.
In the sugar sub-sector, Uhuru directed the National Treasury to allocate an additional Sh1.5billion in aid of the sugar sector, to be appropriated towards factories maintenance and payment of farmer’s arrears.
In the Coffee Sub-Sector, he directed the exchequer to allocate Sh1billion to the Ministry of Agriculture to be appropriated towards completion of the ongoing targeted interventions in the Coffee Sub-Sector.
The fourth intervention is in the Livestock sector where Uhuru directed the National Treasury to allocate Sh1.5billion in support of the communities affected by the ongoing drought in the ASAL counties as part of the National Livestock Offtake Programme.
Uhuru also directed the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture to issue a framework that will facilitate the reduction of the cost of animal and chicken feeds within seven days.
In the petroleum sector, Uhuru directed the Ministry of Petroleum & Mining, jointly with the National Treasury to develop a framework for stabilization of petroleum prices by December 24.
This is so as to cushion Kenyans against the turbulence caused by the volatility in fuel prices.
He also directed the Ministry of Energy to secure the full implementation of the report of the Presidential Taskforce on Review of Power Purchase Agreements.
The report establishes a pathway for the reduction of electricity prices by 30 per cent by December 24.
On financial processes and transactions, Uhuru noted that the implementation of cash transactions requirements by banks has not been facilitative of the operations of MSMEs and has to some extent inhibited their growth.
In this regard, he ordered the National Treasury to revise upwards the cash transactions reporting threshold from the current mark of Sh1 million applicable to both withdrawals and deposits by customers.
The head of state has directed relevant authorities to effect a moratorium of listing in Credit Reference Bureaus(CRBs) for a period of 12 months to end September 2022 on loans below Sh5 million.
“Further, borrowers with loans below Sh5 million listed with CRBs from October 2020 to date will not have that listing incorporated in their credit reports for the next 12 months, ending September 2022,” Uhuru said.
The move is set to cushion borrowers who had been negatively listed by lenders.
He directed the National Treasury to engage all-digital payment providers with an aim of deepening and expanding the use of digital payment channels.
“The above measures among others will grow the economy by Sh25billion and complement ongoing State interventions that are expected to sustain the momentum of economic recovery,” Uhuru said.