Kenya is committed to implementing its on-going infrastructure projects with a focus on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ambitious Big Four Agenda projects despite an economic crisis triggered by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani reduced budgetary allocation towards these projects — which are falling behind schedule — by setting aside $1.28 billion compared with last year’s allocation of $4.3 billion from the 2019/2020 budget, accounting to close to a 70 per cent drop.
This year Mr Yatani set aside Ksh111.7 billion ($1.11 billion) for universal health coverage, Ksh15.5 billion ($155 million) for the affordable housing scheme, Ksh18.3 billion ($183 million) for promotion of the manufacturing sector and Ksh52.8 billion ($528 million) for improving food and nutrition security.
At the beginning of his second term in office, President Kenyatta outlined the four pillars of development that would form the basis of his legacy.
“The budget for the 2020/2021 fiscal year will continue with the implementation of the Big Four Agenda,” said Mr Yatani.
However, with close to two years left of his tenure, the implementation of the Big Four agenda projects is facing headwinds, with reports that only less than one per cent of the set targets had been met by January this year.
The national affordable housing project targets to build at least 500,000 new homes in the next two years.
In 2018, the government launched the Universal Health Coverage, targeting to provide all 47 million citizens with affordable healthcare by 2022. But the programme is hampered by a costly rollout.
News Culled from Theeastafrican
