Kenyans hope Ksh2.6 trillion budget will address inflation
By KBC Reporters
Kenyans are optimistic that the national budget that will be read Thursday afternoon will have measures to reduce the cost of living.
Their immediate concern is the runaway inflation that has hit nine percent.
They are optimistic that the agriculture sector would receive more budgetary allocations to boost food production.
Of utmost importance according to the public is the high unemployment rate which they say can be addressed through construction of more roads so as to easily transport goods across the country.
The long term measure is a paradigm shift that puts emphasis on technical training.
They also expect more money allocated to boost security.
Others are pessimistic that the budget is unlikely to have a substantial impact on lowering the cost of living.
The 2017/2018 national budget will be presented two months earlier than usual to pave way for MPs to pass relevant bills before going on recess.
Economists argue that the government may not have a full picture of the expenditure and revenue performance for the current financial year such as tax collections, the budget deficit and expenditure forecasts which would result in adjustments to Government spending and revenue projections in the course of the next financial year.
Public servants are among beneficiaries of the budget after the state earmarked 100 billion shillings to cover salary increases.
The 2.62 trillion shillings 2017/2018 budget, will see the government spend 1.6 trillion shillings on development projects and 990 billion shillings on the recurrent expenditure.
Members of Parliament have urged the state to spend cash earmarked for development expenditure on ongoing projects.
This perhaps explains why legislators want the government to avoid initiating any new development project and just concentrate on completion of ongoing ones.
The budget committee made changes to proposals from the national treasury that will see the IEBC allocated an additional 200 million shillings and the Lake Basin Development Authority get one billion shillings.
To a large extent the 2.62 trillion proposed budget will be financed by income tax where the Kenya Revenue Authority has been charged with collecting 1.7 trillion shillings.
