Kenya: Treasury Allocates Sh40bn to Various State Departments Amid Finance Bill 2024 Withdrawal

Nairobi Kenya — Treasury has release Shs40 billion to several government ministries as part of their financial allocations.

The Treasury allocated the Ministry of Education with Sh29.7 billion, Ministry of Agriculture Sh4.6 billion, the Ministry of Roads with Sh2 billion, the County Aggregation with Sh1 billion and the state department for Investment Promotion with Sh600 million.

The Ministry of Education received Sh1.6 billion to support Free Primary Education for the third term, Sh14.1 billion was set aside for Free Day Secondary Education, and Sh6.1 billion is allocated for Junior Secondary Education for the third term.

Also, the government has allocated Sh5.1 billion to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to provide financial assistance to students pursuing higher education, and has directed Sh2.8 billion to the Universities Fund Board to support the operations and development of public universities.

The Treasury also allocated the Ministry of Agriculture Sh4.6billion with Sh2.6 billion allocated to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) by the State Department for Irrigation, for enhancing irrigation projects that are vital for food security and sustainable agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions.

The government has allocated a total of Sh2 billion to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) for settling pending bills related to the fertilizer program for the short rains and long rains during the 2023/2024 financial year.

The National Treasury has also been allocatedSh800 million to the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) Ltd to help in enhancing the operations of KCC, a key player in the dairy industry.

A total of Sh500 million has been allocated to the Financial Inclusion Fund, known as the Hustler Fund, under Enterprise Development aiming to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), driving economic growth and job creation.

The treasury has also allocated Sh1billion for the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks to help developing of industrial parks across counties, fostering local manufacturing and economic diversification.

Additionally, the Treasury allocated Sh600 million to Export Processing Zones Authority by the State Department for Investment Promotion to help in enhancing Kenya’s capacity to attract foreign investment and boost exports.

The allocations come amid the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 after it sparked nationwide protests led by Gen Z, who deemed it ill-timed and punitive.

As a result, President Ruto withdrew it and declined to sign it into law.

On June 13, Kenya presented its about 30 billion U.S. dollars budget for the financial year 2024/2025, which focused on sustaining economic growth expected to reach 5.5 percent in 2024, according to the National Treasury.

The withdrawn Finance Bill 2024, which sparked youth protests, sought to raise an additional 2.67 billion dollars through new taxes.

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