Here is the full BUDGET 2013/2014 speech to KENYA by HENRY ROTICH STATEMENT DELIVERED TO THE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON 13THJUNE, 2013, BY MR. HENRY K. ROTICH, CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE NATIONAL TREASURY, REPUBLIC OF KENYA, WHEN HIGHLIGHTING THE BUDGET POLICY AND REVENUE RAISING MEASURES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/2014 1ST JULY, 2013 TO 30TH JUNE, 2014 ________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Overview 1. Hon Members, it is a great honour and privilege to present the highlights of the first budget of the Administration of H.E the President, Hon Uhuru Kenyatta, in accordance with section 40 (1) and (2) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, and Standing Order No.241 of the National Assembly. 2. But before I proceed, Hon Members, allow me to take this early opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency the President for appointing me as Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and entrusting me with the important task of spearheading our agenda of transforming and elevating our economy to a higher growth path. 3. Hon Members, let me also, at the onset, thank the Budget and Appropriation Committee, under the chairmanship of Hon Mutava Musyimi, for the constructive engagement during the parliamentary review of the Budget Estimates that we presented on 30th April 2013. 4. Hon Members, in the just concluded general elections, Kenyans showed the world that we have come of age and that we can conduct our business in a peaceful and civil manner. Thanks to our new Constitution and the institutions that we created under this legal instrument. 5. All Kenyans should be proud that we confounded our cynics who had to contend with the fact that we could successfully hold a robust political competition and yet find a shared understanding on matters of concern to all of us – that is, building a better Kenya for the current generation of Kenyans and for the generations to come. 6. Hon Members, we must now seize this opportunity to urgently address the main challenges that we continue to face, notably: elevating the economy to a higher and sustainable growth path, creating decent jobs, and significantly reducing poverty while preserving macroeconomic stability. As H.E the President pointed out in his address to the joint session of Parliament on 16th April 2013, none of us can rest or sleep peacefully until every Kenyan can find a job easily, feed himself and his family and easily exploit available opportunities to improve their own lives. 7. The President has correctly challenged us to show results to Kenyans. We, therefore, need to re-examine our strategies, and to set a more comprehensive and focused plan of action. We also need to build a new common purpose so that we can use our skills and resources to deal with our economic and social challenges. The President has already shown the way. 8. He has restructured the government, by collapsing 44 ministries into 18 ministries and commenced the journey for organizational restructuring and rationalizing public agencies that is driven by the imperative of service delivery. The government is also forging a new engagement with the business sector and development partners through which we will mobilize our determination to build a better Kenya that meets the aspirations of our people. 9. Hon Members, despite the progress we have made over the past 50 years since independence, we still face various human development challenges. The majority of our youth have no work. Income inequality is high and about half our population still lives in abject poverty. Indeed, a large number of Kenyans are still food insecure and have low access to quality health services. As a consequence, we are confronted with several social and economic challenges, including unacceptably high rates of crime. 10. So we have to act now. We must strengthen the institutions to deliver public services effectively. We must transform the structure of our economy, so that all Kenyans can share in the opportunities that our country offers. We must in our own way demonstrate to the world that it is possible to transform our economy so as to deliver an inclusive and broad-based development. We must also ensure the system of devolved government succeeds. 11. Hon Members, the Government is ready to work tirelessly to build a future in which all Kenyans can take pride and equitably share the benefits. So the key message of this budget is, therefore, “Transformation for Shared Prosperity” 12. Hon Members, the Cabinet, under the leadership of H.E the President has agreed on a set of outcomes that will shape our policies and programmes for the years ahead. The key elements of this action plan, which informs this Budget, aim to lock in and secure a sustained higher and inclusive economic growth and development for our country. 13. My privilege today, Hon Members, is to present Kenya’s economic action plan, a plan for jobs, growth and long term prosperity. I will elaborate on some of the economic and fiscal policy measures the new Administration plans to implement, as well as to share with the Members of Parliament and all Kenyans the spending plans and tax revenue measures and some of the projects and programmes that the government will undertake over the period ahead. But before I proceed to elaborate on programs, let me start by highlighting the economic context in which the budget
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:36:01 +0000
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