Govt to roll out Ksh.26.6B post COVID-19 stimulus

The government is expected to roll out a new Ksh.26.6 billion post COVID-19 economic stimulus program from July this year.

The program is expected to follow up the government’s first Ksh.56.6 billion stimulus plan announced in June last year as part of the 2020/21 budget.

Businesses including government suppliers are expected to be the greatest beneficiaries from the extended government buffer receiving Ksh.8.6 billion to enhance the liquidity of their operations.

While the budget summary has not disclosed details of specific draw downs, the allocation to businesses is likely to comprise of pending bill payments and a further firm up of the State credit guarantee scheme to cover risks posed on banks by lending to SMEs.

Further, the post COVID-19 economic recovery strategy included Ksh.7.4 billion in disbursements to the upgrade of water and sanitation facilities and Ksh.6.4 billion to education.

Moreover, Ksh.1.97 billion will be used towards improving agriculture and food security, Ksh.1.2 billion for the recruitment of health interns and Ksh.1 billion to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for the engagement of community scouts.

The new stimulus plan represents about 0.24 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is about half the size of cushioning announced last June.

At the same time, the plan is a far cry from the draft Economic Recovery Strategy (ESR) proposed in November last year whose estimated disbursements would be in excess of Ksh.900 billion.

The new cushioning plan is expected to be presented alongside the 2021-2022 budget statement by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani on June 10.