Kenya passes Ksh2.79 trillion budget to revive every sector of the economy

Kenya's Finance Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani has passed a Ksh2.79 trillion ($27.9 billion) budget for the 2020/2021 fiscal year that seeks to revive almost every sector of the economy as quickly as possible and still keeps the government running.

Great opportunity with Citizen TV during a pre-Budet interview to give highlights of FY 2020/21 pic.twitter.com/CrlZO9iIh7

— Amb. Ukur Yatani™- EGH 🇰🇪 (@BaloziYatani) June 10, 2020

This year's budget comes against a backdrop of weakening global economy, shrinking domestic revenue collections, and a surge in public expenditures to address targeted interventions designed to deal with the Covid19 pandemic whose level of infections in the country has surpassed the 3,000 marks.

In his budget estimates presented to parliament, Yatani said the three shocks have had a devastating impact on the economy, which now requires a combination of both monetary and fiscal stimulus in order to recover over1.7 million jobs lost in three months.

The government has revised the country's growth prospects for 2020 to as low as 2.5 percent from 6.1 percent compared with last year's growth of 5.4 percent.

"The challenges require bold actions if we are to position our country on a sustainable economic growth trajectory," he said.

The minister proposed a Ksh56.6 billion ($566 million) Economic Stimulus Programme to boost economic activity, provide livelihoods, and enable businesses to recover from the adverse effects of Covid19.

Stimulus package pic.twitter.com/tqSWU3vmBb

— Amb. Ukur Yatani™- EGH 🇰🇪 (@BaloziYatani) June 11, 2020