Treasury CS Outlines 2024/25 Budget Priorities
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u presented the 2024/25 budget statement to the National Assembly on Thursday, highlighting key areas for the government to advance the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). The budget involves an increase in total government expenditure to Ksh.3.9 trillion from Ksh.3.6 trillion in the 2023/24 financial year.
Agriculture
The government has allocated Ksh.54.6 billion to the agricultural sector to boost productivity among farmers. Within this amount, Ksh.10 billion is earmarked for the fertilizer subsidy program, Ksh.647 million for small-scale irrigation and value addition projects, Ksh.2.5 billion for emergency locust response, and Ksh.2.4 billion for youth and women empowerment in agriculture. Additionally, the food security and crop diversification project receives Ksh.642 million, while livestock resources management is allocated Ksh.12.3 billion. To address drought, the government has allocated Ksh.182 million towards the National Drought Emergency Fund.
MSME
To enhance the MSME sector, the government is focusing on four areas to build capacity and provide access to affordable credit. This includes Ksh.5 billion for the Hustler Fund, Ksh.200 million for the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Ksh.162.5 million for the Centre for Entrepreneurship project, and Ksh.1.9 billion for the Rural Kenya Financial Inclusion Facility.
Housing and Settlement
The Affordable Housing project, a significant initiative of President William Ruto, aims to facilitate housing access and create jobs for the youth. A total of Ksh.92.1 billion has been allocated to this program. Of this, Ksh.67.4 billion is designated for Affordable and Social Housing infrastructure, Ksh.11.3 billion for the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project, and Ksh.1.1 billion for the construction of markets.
Healthcare
To realize its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda, the government has allocated Ksh.127 billion to the healthcare sector. This includes Ksh.2 billion for free maternity healthcare, Ksh.861 million for medical cover for the elderly and disabled, Ksh.4.1 billion for the primary healthcare fund, Ksh.2 billion for the emergency, chronic, and critical illness fund, and Ksh.4.6 billion for vaccines and immunization programs.
Digital Superhighway
As part of its plans to achieve widespread connectivity across the country, the government has allocated Ksh.16.3 billion to the digital sector. This includes Ksh.5.2 billion for Konza data center and smart city facilities, Ksh.2.8 billion for the Kenya digital economy acceleration project, Ksh.2.8 billion for the last mile county connectivity network, and Ksh.1.8 billion for the digital superhighway and shared services.
These allocations reflect the government’s commitment to enhancing key sectors to drive economic transformation and improve living standards across the country.
