NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 22 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law ten (10) parliamentary bills among them the 2022 Appropriation Bill, Supplementary Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill.
Others were the 2021 Radiographers Bill; National Electronic Single Window Bill; Traffic (Amendment) Bill; National Government Development Fund (Amendment) Bill; Supreme Court (Amendment) Bill of 2022; County Allocation of Revenue Bill; and Mental Health Bill.
“The second Supplementary Appropriation Bill of 2022 makes available a total of Kshs Sh88 billion for Government expenditure on public services among them the fuel stabilization fund which has been allocated Sh49 billion,” reads a statement from PSCU.
Other uses of the funds include drought mitigation interventions such as provision of relief food; the national fertilizer subsidy programme; settlement of ongoing road construction bills which has been allocated Sh26.7 billion; and social protection and safety net measures assigned Sh1.5 billion.
The Teachers Service Commission has been allocated Sh2.1 billion for salaries and related recurrent expenses while Sh1.37 billion has been earmarked for ongoing improvement of primary school infrastructure.
The Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has welcomed the signing into law of the National Electronic Single Window Bill by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
KenTrade Chief Executive Officer Amos Wangora says the passage of the crucial bill paves way for the agency to operate autonomously without the exchequer’s funding.
Wangora said the full implementation of the National Electronic Single Window System Law, 2021, will also help curb fraud and exploitation in the logistics coordination system often faced by importers and exporters using the platform.
The law seeks to, among other issues, simplify and synchronise processing of data, enable the standardisation of documents and single decision-making for customs release and clearance as well as facilitate electronic transactions in trade as well as reduce legal and operational barriers to electronic transactions.
At the same time, President Kenyatta declined three parliamentary bills among them the contraversial Information Communication Technology Practitioners Bill that sought to have all local ICT practitioners licensed and registered by a council.
President Kenyatta sent the Bill back to Parliament alongside the Insurance Professionals Registration Bill of 2020 and the Higher Education Loans Bill of 2020 with memoranda.
The ICT Bill was introduced to Parliament in 2016 by Garissa Township MP Aden Duale.
The bills were presented to the Head of State for signature by State House Deputy Chief of Staff Njee Muturi at a ceremony attended by Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua.
