President William Ruto 's Cabinet has approved a plan to lower the cost of living, as it rolled out plans to culminate in the launch of the proposed Hustlers Fund in three weeks.
The fund will target informal and unstructured businesses considered unattractive to mainstream financial institutions, the Cabinet resolved.
The fund will include a number of products that will be launched progressively including Personal Loans, Micro Loans, SME Loans and Start Up Loans.
The Cabinet meeting, the first of the country’s fifth administration, was chaired by President Ruto today at State House Nairobi.
The meeting was also dominated by interventions to meet the country’s growing humanitarian needs owing to the drought ravishing parts of the country, and plans to arrest the ever-rising cost of living.
The meeting also approved a framework mandating Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) to stabilise prices for essential commodities in a bid to address the high costs of essential commodities.
As such, KNTC will create reserves for essential food items and vital farm inputs to help stabilize prices of the commodities.
The cabinet also approved the establishment of a Sh1 billion Fisheries and Aquaculture centre in Kisumu.
Kabonyo Fisheries and Aquaculture Service and Training Centre will facilitate training, research, and best practices in the Fisheries departments in line with the administration’s effort to position the Blue economy, fisheries and aquaculture as key growth areas.
President William Ruto with Cabinet Secretaries at State House, Nairobi, after their inaugural meeting.
Photo credit: Courtesy | PCS
The meeting also bore good news to road construction contractors as it approved a framework to settle all outstanding obligations owed to them, capped at Sh92 billion, through a bridge fund. The new administration also committed to support ongoing construction of bitumen roads across the country.
In noting a record 3.5 million candidates will be sitting national exams starting later this month including Kenya Primary School Assessment (CBC Class 6), the topmost policy organ in the country resolved that the President will provide clarity on junior secondary schools under the competency based curriculum (CBC) as being Grade 7 and Grade 8, in line with recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms .
The Presidential Working Party has so far conducted public hearing in 37 counties and will be receiving oral submission from stakeholders including Teachers Unions, Associations and Parliament on November 24.
