The 2020/2021 Budget announced by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has been given a clean bill of health by local manufacturers, for prioritizing on locally procured services and goods.- Gerald Gekara
In his first Budget address, CS Yatani announced a raft of measures to cushion local manufacturers from the effects of the coronavirus.
1.Eradication of Import duty
The Treasury has proposed a slash in import duty for textiles, mobile phone spare parts and other accessories, inorder to boost local innovations and ease the tax burden.
Yatani also ordered for the increase of import duty for electrical material from 25% to 35% inorder to protect local manufacturers from cheap imports that have flooded the Kenyan market.
The textile and fashion industry also sighed in relief after their import duty was slashed to 0%, inorder to support rising fashion designers and revival of textile industries in Kenya.
2. Boosting Agriculture
A total of Kshs 1.3 billion has been proposed for water harvesting. This will facilitate more water to be put into irrigation, thereby boosting the country’s food security programmes.
The price of food is also expected to go down, after Yatani announced a proposal to exempt maize seeds from tax. This will make them available to farmers. Treasury has also allocated Ksh. 3 billion to acquire farm inputs and Ksh. 3.5 billion to expand community and household irrigation.
The leather and footwear sector will continue to pay 25% in import duty. This is aimed at encouraging leather industries to buy raw materials from local leather industries.
3. Infrastructure
The state also allocated Ksh 400 million for to support the ongoing construction of Konza phase 1b and Ksh 5.1 billion for Konza data center. Once the construction is completed, Konza smart city will be a key hub for fostering upcoming inventions and offer solutions to increased space for development outside crowded cities.
In an effort to promote the talented youth and avail facilities for talent development, Ksh14b billion has been proposed to the Ministry of Sports Heritage and culture ministry. A portion of the money will be channeled to social development funds.
Ksh 600m has been slated to purchase locally assembled vehicles for government use. This effort is aimed at boosting local assembly industries, as well as attracting car manufacturers to set up shop in Kenya.
5Bn was dispatched to repair roads that were damaged during the devastating floods. The damaged roads, completely cut off movement of goods and people through counties, leading to the massive loss of fresh farm produce as well as people.
And to boost the involvement of youth in employment opportunities, the state has also proposed a 10bn boost to the recently launched Kazi Mtaani programme for the youth. This is aimed at reducing the number of people grappling with unemployment, while equipping them with crucial entrepreneurial skills.
During his address at the parliament, Treasury CS observed that the budget presented solutions in many issues sprouting from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The budget I have presented today involved making hard decisions in the quest to move our country forward. Faced with limited resources, the balancing has not been easy,” he added.
