•Expenditure to prioritise the Big Four, youth empowerment and creation of employment.
•The Treasury plans to borrow from domestic and foreign creditors to fund the shortfall.
Image: PSCU
The government will spend Sh450.9 billion of its Sh3 trillion 2019-20 budget to finance the ambitious Big Four.
According to budget estimates tabled before the National Assembly by Majority leader Aden Duale, this year’s budget appeared to be anchored on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy projects.
The targeted expenditure will prioritise employment creation, youth empowerment, manufacturing, Universal Health Coverage, food security and affordable housing.
“The allocations to other critical sectors such as education, infrastructure, energy and social protection will remain protected to achieve the targeted objectives,” the document reads.
The estimates indicate that the government will be spending Sh450.9 billion to implement the multi-billion-shilling projects which are expected to be completed in the next four years.
Some Sh76.7 billion will be spent on the drivers of the project and Sh374.1 billion on enablers.
Out of this, UHC will get the lion's share of Sh35.8 billion to implement the project launched on a pilot basis last year by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kisumu.
Under the UHC, Treasury CS Henry Rotich has allocated a cover for the elderly and severely disabled (Sh3.2 billion), secluding UHC (Sh6 billion), free maternity care (Sh4.1 billion), regional cancer centres (Sh0.4 billion) and conditional grants to level 5 hospitals (Sh4.3 billion).
The government recently launched the pilot phase of the Universal Health programme in four counties; Kisumu, Machakos, Nyeri and Isiolo, with the plan being to test its viability. The observations drawn from that will be used to guide the countrywide rollout of the programme.
Ensuring food security to all Kenyans will receive Sh15.6 billion and the government intends to use, among others, national value chain support programme (Sh2 billion), sugarcane farmers debt payment (Sh0.3 billion), cherry coffee revolving fund (Sh3 billion) and miraa industry revitalisation (Sh1 billion) to achieve it.
To enhance food and nutrition security, the government has aligned all policies under the agriculture sector towards increasing food production, boosting smallholder productivity and reducing the cost of food.
Provision of affordable and decent housing for all Kenyans according to the estimates will consume Sh10.5 billion.
The government will spend Sh1 billion in social housing, construction of new affordable units (Sh1 billion), mortgages (Sh2.5 billion) and National Housing Development fund (Sh5 billion).
A total of Sh96.6 billion has been allocated to both drivers and enablers towards the manufacturing cluster.
Funding for the four pillars is important to the Jubilee administration as President Kenyatta plans on leaving a sound legacy as he exits the scene in 2022.
According to the Budget Policy Statement presented by Treasury CS early this year, the government will be working with a deficit of Sh583.6 billion. The ministry plans to borrow from domestic and foreign creditors to plug the shortfall.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)