Uhuru in key meetings amid fete rehearsals

President Uhuru Kenyatta meeting his economic team at National Treasury on November 22, 2017. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe led the military in a full dress rehearsal.
  • Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has said that it lost about Sh50 billion in revenue collection during this poll crisis.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his team of economic advisers Wednesday held meetings with officials of the National Treasury ahead of his swearing-in for a second term next week.

The meetings were a continuation of discussions the President and his team started after the Supreme Court upheld his win in the October 26 election.

This was the third time the President was meeting with the economic team in the last three weeks, following his declaration as winner in the October 26 repeat election by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

SWEARING-IN

Wednesday’s meetings came against a backdrop of intensified preparations for Tuesday’s swearing-in of President Kenyatta.

Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe led the military in a full dress rehearsal at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani – the venue of Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony.

In the elaborate, meticulous rehearsals, the military took its members through what will be expected of them when they usher in their Commander-in-Chief for a second term on Tuesday.

Gen Mwathethe rode in the Commander-in-Chief’s vehicle but with the Coat of Arms and the initials CIC covered, as they are only uncovered when the Head of State is riding the vehicle.

AGENDA

And, as Gen Mwathethe entered the stadium in simulation of what the President will do on Tuesday, the military’s master of ceremonies, Warrant Officer II Gibson Mwandawiro – the man with the distinctive voice that explains military traditions to the public and the Commander-in-Chief – was on hand to direct the vehicle, and brief journalists on what would happen on the swearing-in day.

At the Treasury, the President, his economic team and National Treasury officials continued with consultations that will inform the agenda that he will lay before Kenyans on Tuesday during his swearing-in.
In the first and second meetings, President Kenyatta was briefed on ongoings in the energy and water sectors.

The President and his team are expected to pitch for economic recovery once he is sworn into office, to pull the country out of the stagnation it has experienced courtesy of the long-drawn political and electoral crisis.

ELECTION CRISIS

The National Treasury has already cut this year’s growth target to 5 per cent from 5.9 per cent as the protracted election crisis checked investment and drought curbed farm yields.

The growth target review was done after losses from the prolonged electioneering period hit Sh130 billion and estimated at 1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut Kenya’s forecast to 5 per cent from 5.8 per cent while the Kenya Private Sector Alliance said that they have lost Sh700 billion due to the prolonged electioneering.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has said that it lost about Sh50 billion in revenue collection during this poll crisis.

The Sh2.6 trillion budget has been amended to include “austerity measures for the current fiscal year to accommodate unplanned expenditures such as the rerun of the election, National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich said in September.

The Treasury has further revised its 2017/18 budget deficit forecast to 8.5 per cent of gross domestic product from 6.8 per cent. The government recorded a 9.2 per cent shortfall in the year through June 2017.