US President announce reduction of funds for development initiatives in Kenya

President Donald Trump has proposed a reduction of funds for development initiatives in Kenya.

 The budget, which was released on Monday, reduces the funds from USD 102 million provided in 2018 to USD 43.5 million.

The reduction is per the funding for the 2020 US fiscal year.

 The move is likely to affect several projects during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure in government. 

According to the White House, the move was reached as a way to reduce dependence on the US. 

The superpower has now challenged the African nation to consider working towards self-sufficiency instead of spending time waiting for grants. 

The US has set aside USD54 million in the coming year for the Health sector compared to USD82 million allocated in 2018.

 The budget cut will also affect the President’s Emergency Programme for Aids Relief, which is an HIV/Aids programme. According to Congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, the cuts were inevitable. 

“For the third year in a row, the president’s foreign affairs budget request is dead on arrival on Capitol Hill,” said Engel

President Kenyatta, who is completing his second and final term in office, is expected to look for alternative sources of aid to ensure he attains the Big Four Agenda.

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