Food Prices, CBC: Decisions By Ruto's Cabinet In First-Ever Meeting

President William Ruto's Cabinet held its first-ever meeting at State House on Thursday, November 10.

The meeting was also preceded by a historic first, a State reception in honour of the Members of the previous Administration’s Cabinet last week and a State luncheon in their honour immediately after the day’s meeting.

In his opening remarks, His Excellency the President called on all Cabinet Secretaries to honour the profound privilege to serve in Kenya's apex policy-making organ – the Cabinet with dutiful service to the Sovereign– the People of Kenya.

The Head of State and Government, according to a dispatch sent to newsrooms, highlighted to the Members of Cabinet that “in our hands lies the Destiny of a Nation, the Hopes and Dreams of her People, and the power to positively impact the lives of generations of Kenyans.”

President William Ruto, DP Rigathi Gachagua and Cabinet Secretaries outside State House after a Cabinet meeting held on November 10, 2022. /PCS

Recognizing that shaping the destiny of a nation into a reality is not the burden of only one man or one woman, the President challenged all Members of the Cabinet to serve the people of Kenya unceasingly and well aware that with the high honour of being members of Cabinet comes high responsibility and accountability.

Decisions Made In Cabinet Meeting

1. The Cabinet approved the initial phase of incentives that will catalyze recovery efforts by building drought resilience, food security and adoption of climate change resilience programmes through preparedness and recovery through proactive investment in high-impact large-scale water harvesting, storage and distribution. Cabinet applauded the unity of purpose demonstrated by the County Governments and other stakeholders such as the Kenya Red Cross Society, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in supporting Government efforts that cushion households that have been severely affected by the ongoing drought. 

2. To address the rise in the cost of living, Cabinet approved a framework to position the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) as the anchor of State initiatives to create a price stabilizer for essential household food items. As such, KNTC, as a trading company, will supplement other State initiatives by creating Strategic Reserves for staple and essential food items, vital farm inputs including fertilizer and any other goods necessary for ensuring stability in the prices of core goods consumed by Kenyans. It was noted that KNTC will leverage its infrastructure and capacity to help stabilize prices of all essential items in instances where price swings of essential items are abnormal and against the public interest.

3. Cabinet noted that on receipt of the first interim report of the Presidential Working Party, which will cover the curriculum assessment and quality assurance, President Ruto will offer guidance to the nation on the vesting of the Junior Secondary (being Grade 7-8) on the strength of the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party.

4. Cabinet was also apprised of the progress that has been made in securing legal and regulatory compliance as a pre-requisite for the launch and roll-out of the Administration’s signature programme that seeks to enhance access to capital, styled as the ‘Hustlers Fund'. The Meeting noted that the Hustlers Fund, set to be launched on December 1, 2022, will mainly target informal and unstructured business enterprises which are currently unattractive to mainstream financial institutions.

5. The ground-breaking financial products to be progressively launched under the Fund will include Personal Loans, Micro Loans, SME Loans, and Start-Up loans. These products will be powered by mobile technology and will be accessible to Kenyans across the country.

6. In an effort to position the Blue Economy, Fisheries, and Aquaculture as key growth areas for shared prosperity across the country, Cabinet approved the establishment of the Kabonyo Fisheries and Aquaculture Service and Training Centre of Excellence in Kisumu County. The over Ksh1 billion Centre will facilitate training, research, innovation, and best practices in Fisheries and Aquaculture through demonstrations and incubations.

7. To secure the completion of all ongoing road projects across the country, Cabinet approved the proposed amendments to the Petroleum Development Act. The amendments provide a framework for the allocation of the Petroleum Development Levy to road infrastructure development. In the intervening period, the Meeting approved a framework to settle all outstanding obligations owed to road contractors in the amount of Ksh92 billion through a bridge bond.