Inside Uhuru’s Big Four plan, one year later

President Uhuru Kenyatta with David Sirma of Tecnofin (in white) looking at the new Pangani housing models at the recent Nairobi International Trade Fair.-Courtesy

During this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave a speech that sounded like a sequel to the one he gave on the same day a year earlier. He spoke of the progress of his Big Four Agenda since he unveiled it in 2017.

Through this ambitious plan, President Uhuru wants to curve for himself a legacy by the time he leaves office. By 2022, his administration hopes to put up half a million low-cost houses, create jobs by revamping the manufacturing sector, provide food to all Kenyans, and ensure access to healthcare services.  

“The Big Four Agenda responds to these needs. It is an accelerated development agenda designed to help us achieve the social and economic pillars of our Vision 2030 and the 2010 Constitution,” said the President in his speech.

So far, the Government has kept up the rhetoric on his pet project, sprinkling the three words all over the media landscape. However, opinions are divided on its implementation or viability.  

To many taxpayers, the Big Four is the reason the tax load got heavier in the current financial calendar with the Treasury introducing new measures, including the controversial value-added tax on petroleum products.

However, thanks to the Big Four, there has been no hiding for the corrupt in Government. Uhuru has gone after buccaneers in State agencies with unprecedented aggression.

“The Government  will  continue  to  strengthen  various  institutions  mandated   to   fight   corruption,   implement   reforms   on   good governance  and  enhance the  capacity  to  recover  corruptly  acquired  assets,”  said Treasury in its Budget Policy Statement for the 2018/19 financial year.

“The Government will also continue with the implementation of the measures articulated in the National Call to Action against corruption.”

Treasury said achievement of the Big Four plan necessitated prudent management of available public resources and the Government would continue to strengthen expenditure control and improve the efficiency of public spending through public financial management reforms.

Uhuru also froze all new development projects except for those related to the Big Four.  

“There will be no new projects that will be embarked on until you complete those that are ongoing,” he told Government accounting officers including Principal Secretaries, parastatal heads and vice-chancellors of public universities.

The Big Four has also made the Government conscious of its limited fiscal space, a situation that has seen its enlist the help of the private sector by creating the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit at the Treasury.

There have been signs of life for some of the pillars under the Big Four Plan. On December 13, the President officially launched the Universal Health Care (UHC) programme in Kisumu County, as part of the Sh3.9 billion pilot that targets four counties.

Other counties in the pilot are Machakos, Isiolo and Nyeri. At least 3.2 million residents are expected to benefit from the trial project.

Free services

“The residents of Isiolo, Kisumu, Nyeri, and Machakos counties will receive free health care services in all health facilities from their local centres all the way to the referral facilities,” said the President.

Uhuru also launched the first housing project under the affordable housing project (AHP). Plans are underway for construction of 1,500 low-cost homes on Nairobi’s Park Road estate in Ngara. This is after the contract was awarded to a Chinese firm.

Activities in the other two pillars, however, have not been as visible.

In the current financial year, the Government intends to pour billions into the Big Four. It has allocated Sh2.4 billion to support value addition in manufacturing in a bid to increase the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 15 per cent by 2022.

About Sh20 billion was set aside to enhance food and nutrition security for all Kenyans. Provision of affordable and decent housing for all Kenyans got Sh6.5 billion. It is universal healthcare that will receive the most funds, after the Government allocated Sh44.6 billion to the pillar.

The anchors of the Big Four Plan include allocation to counties, leveraging on information, communication and technology, ensuring equity and reduction of poverty, environment management and protection, flood control and water harvesting.

Other enablers of Big Four include enhancing access and transforming education system, investing in infrastructure to unlock growth potential and enhanced security for investment, growth and employment.

Challenges

But it has not been smooth-sailing. Implementation of affordable housing has been beset by legal and technical challenges, which culminated in a Nairobi court suspending the implementation of 1.5 per cent levy that was to be deducted from workers’ salaries towards the National Housing Development Fund.

Workers representative Cotu, Kenya National Union of Teachers and Federation of Kenyan Employers have opposed the new deductions that were set to be implemented next month.

Cotu filed a petition to stop the levy on workers on grounds that proper consultations were not held.