President Uhuru Kenyatta is hell bent on achieving his promised and now much hyped Big Four Agenda. The President is doing everything possible and this has included reshaping the structure of his cabinet to ensure smooth operations and close supervision of his Big 4 Agenda.
The Head of State seemingly know that his Legacy will be judged on what he will achieve within the remaining period of his term.
So what exactly is President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Strategy that will help him achieve his Big 4 Agenda?
Well, a dossier from Treasury has revealed the government’s plan to roll out multi-billion projects, in only four years.
The Big Four is grounded on food security, affordable housing, manufacturing, and universal healthcare.
The 2019 Draft Budget Policy Statement proposes to spend Sh5.6 trillion in financial years 2019/20 – 2021/22.
Of this, Sh2.01 trillion will be spent on development to “accelerate growth, create jobs, and reduce poverty.”
On housing, Kenyatta intends to construct 500,000 homes in five lots in four years.
Phase one will see 1,640 units built at Park Road, Makongeni (20,000), Shauri Moyo (5,300), Starehe (3,500) and Mavoko (5,500).
Jubilee plans to build 15,000 units by empowering housing associations, 48,000 by counties, and 78,700 by Nairobi and Mombasa counties.
In phase two, counties should put up 45,000 units, Nairobi regeneration (20,000), police (10,000), and 20,000 others at the NSSF land in Mavoko. Private developers will be encouraged via incentives to put up 20,000 units in the same period.
Counties are further expected to construct 45,000 units in the third phase while 20,000 more through redevelopment of Nairobi’s old estates. The government targets 10,000 units under the Police Housing Plan, 20,000 at the NSSF Mavoko land; 10,000 by cooperatives, and 20,000 by private developers.
Other 220,000 units will be put up in the fourth and fifth phase through cooperatives, private developers, and redevelopment of Nairobi’s old estates.
A deal between the government and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOP) should deliver 100,000 affordable units.
“Already, the government has identified appropriate sites for the housing programme and availed 7,000 acres of land.”
To actualise the ambitious plan, the government established the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) to resolve funding constraints.
KMRC will provide long-term funding to financial institutions, “thereby increasing the availability and affordability of mortgage loans to Kenyans.”
The government has also set up the National Housing Development Fund which will mobilise capital for the affordable housing project.
The infrastructure sector has been allocated Sh411.3 billion, Sh417.3 billion and Sh424.3 billion for the three financial years.
Part of the money will be spent to construct of 8,245 km of roads, 150 bridges, rehabilitate 763km of roads, and maintain others stretching over 114,000 kilometres.
Uhuru also plans to complete the first three berths at Lamu Port; SGR Phase 2A; Phase 2 of the Second Container Terminal at Mombasa Port, and expand airstrips. “
“The sector also targets to generate 649.5MW of power; construct 1,432km of electricity transmission lines; connect 2 million new customers to electricity, install 5,398 new transformers; drill 270 oil wells, produce 600,000 barrels of oil, and distribute 20,482 metric tonnes of oil and gas.”
The government also plans to complete laying the optic fibre, Konza Complex, and build roads at Konza Technopolis.
Treasury CS Henry Rotich says the ministry has cut the budget to lower-priority areas.
“Following the zero-based budgeting approach that we have adopted, we have been able to redirect these savings towards Big Four and their enablers, while continuing with pro-poor expenditures in health, education and protecting the vulnerable.”
“To improve efficiency of public investments, we froze initiation of new capital projects until the ongoing ones are complete,” Rotich said in the policy statement.