Thursday, 29th September 2022

Your Excellency, the President, Rt. Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Members and invited guests, at this juncture, allow me to invite our spiritual leaders to lead us in prayers. (Prayers were said by the following spiritual leaders: Bishop Kepha Omae, Sheikh Sukyan

Hassan Omar, His Grace Bishop Philip Anyolo, Rt. (Rev.) Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit and Mr. Mancha Ole Kupai Senteu)

The Rt. Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Members of Parliament, invited guests, you may now take your seats.

Your Excellency, Hon. (Dr.) William Samoei Ruto, C.G.H, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces; Rt. Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Moses Wetang’ula, E.G.H, MP; Hon. Members of Parliament, Article 132 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Kenya requires the President to address the opening of each newly elected Parliament.

By a letter Reference No. OP/CAB.26/417/Vol.138 dated 21st September 2022, His Excellency the President notified the Speakers of Parliament of his intention to address the newly

elected Parliament on Thursday, 29th September 2022, in the National Assembly Chamber, Parliament Building at 2.30 p.m.

Accordingly, pursuant to Article 132(1)(a) of the Constitution and further pursuant to Standing Order No.24(1) of the Senate Standing Orders, vide Gazette Notice No.11266, which was published in the Kenya Gazette of 22nd September 2022, I gave notice of this Joint Sitting to all Senators.

Hon. Members, this Joint Sitting is therefore properly convened. I thank you.

Your Excellency, Hon. (Dr.) William Samoei Ruto, CGH, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in- Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces; the Speaker of the Senate, Rt. Hon. Amason Kingi; the Hon. Lady Justice Martha Koome, EGH, Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya; Hon. Members of Parliament; members of the Diplomatic corps; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I wish to confirm that Article 132 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Kenya requires the President to address the opening of each newly elected Parliament. In this regard, pursuant to the said Article of the Constitution and further pursuant to Standing Order No.21 (1) of the National Assembly Standing Orders, by Gazette Notice No.11265 which was published on 22nd September 2022, I gave notice of this Joint Sitting to all Members of the National Assembly.

Accordingly, Hon. Members, this Joint Sitting is properly convened.

Asanteni sana, tafadhali tuketi.

counties in 2017, and 39 counties in the just concluded elections. Again, further demonstrating the deepening pluralism and inclusivity of our democracy. Therefore, I take this special opportunity to congratulate you on your election in the last general election; and the subsequent nominations of our nominated Members of Parliament (MPs).

counties in every region, throughout the Republic of Kenya. After all, we all serve the same boss. The people and their sovereign interest are our operating principle and purpose.

Our agenda here is to take necessary measures to create an enabling environment for business people to thrive and decriminalise enterprise.

Affordable credit makes a huge difference in the rate of business growth. Access to affordable credit is like a magic formula. The current Credit Reference Bureau approach of blacklisting debtors is a zero-sum, punitive and has arbitrarily locked millions of businesses out of the credit system. It is time to shift the formulae to a credit scoring system, which allows lenders to apply customer segmentation and at the same time end the stigma of blacklisting.

We have held productive conversations with operators of the Fuliza and M-Shwari platforms on the modalities of reducing their lending rates. Today, I am happy to report that yesterday, our engagement finally culminated in an undertaking by the platform operators to reduce the cost of credit by 50 per cent.

In health, we are bound by duty to take measures to make Universal Health Coverage a reality and liberate Kenyans and their families from the threat of harrowing poverty that stalks them every time a family member falls seriously ill. In our plan, and through your support, we will restructure our primary healthcare system so that we put more resources into promotive, preventive and early diagnosis of diseases.

A key driver of this realisation is the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) whose restructuring is not only necessary for efficiency but also enables it become a fit for purpose social insurance scheme that caters for all, including those suffering from chronic diseases.

Digital technology has become a critical player in economic growth. We will capitalise on existing technology and innovation in the public and private sector to distribute the ‘Hustler Fund’ as promised in our plan. I call upon financial institutions and our young people in innovation to participate in the digital economy by redesigning their products to serve the goal of empowering millions armed with grand ideas and are only waiting for the funds to finance their dreams to reality.

Hon. Speakers and Hon. Members, I have news and it is not very good news. Our financial situation is not very good. For Kenya to grow to an upper income country, we need to invest at least 25 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our current national savings is below 10 per cent of our GDP which translates to an investment-savings deficit of 15 per cent of our GDP.

Over the last decade, we have sought to close this gap with public borrowing. This year alone, we budgeted to borrow Ksh900 billion to finance both development and recurrent expenditure. You are all aware that our total collection is Kshs2.1 trillion which is only enough to pay debts and salaries. The Government should never borrow to finance recurrent expenditure. It is not right, prudent or sustainable. It is simply wrong. We must bring ourselves and our country to sanity.

Over the next three years, we must revise this and go back to the situation where Government contributes to the national saving efforts by keeping recurrent expenditure below revenue. To this end, I have instructed the National Treasury to work with Ministries to find at least Kshs300 billion in this year’s Budget, so that we can remove it because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing we are doing as a Government.

We will also work with the Kenya Revenue Authority on a culture change to make it a people-friendly and customer-centric organization. I am of the view that we should rename it the Kenya Revenue Service, in line with the proposed transformation.

The very large Government borrowing requirements has also undermined the business sector contribution to national savings and investment efforts. These measures outlined above will also address the problem of Government crowding out the private sector from the credit market. It will encourage banks to go back to lending to businesses and bring down interest rates, so that the private sector can also contribute to reducing the savings investment deficit.

In many countries, social security and particularly pension systems contribute, significantly to the national savings. Our current social security infrastructure, both public, that is the NSSF, and private only cater for people in formal employment, thereby excluding the vast majority of working Kenyans.

There is no retired Kenyan today who is living on their NSSF retirement benefits. The meagre current contribution of Ksh200 a month adds up to Ksh72,000 over 30 years. There is no rate of return on earth that can grow this into an adequate pension. I mean, we just have to be honest with ourselves. You cannot pretend that you are saving by saving Kshs200 and it happens across board.

Not surprising, many Kenyans scramble to provide for themselves by investing in the 50 by 100 plots of land, thereby exacerbating the problem of land fragmentation, price inflation as well as land fraud.

We intend to overhaul our social security infrastructure to make it inclusive. To encourage those excluded to save, I will be proposing a national savings drive to encourage those in the informal sector to set up their retirement savings plan.

This means that for every two shillings saved in the scheme, up to a maximum of Ksh6,000 a year, the Government will contribute a shilling for every two shillings saved by the private sector; meaning that for every Kenyan who will save Ksh6,000 a year, the Government of Kenya will give them Ksh3,000.

As part of the response to the ongoing drought, we have embarked on distribution of relief supplies to 3.5million Kenyans who are affected by drought in 23 arid and semi-arid counties. The ultimate solution to the drought cycle in our country is mitigation of climate change and its adverse effects. We must act urgently to keep global heating level below 1.5 degrees centigrade, help those in need; promote the use of renewable energy and thus end addiction to fossil fuels.

Hon. Members, I know the contribution to the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) is making life better for our citizens. Having saved in Parliament for 15 years before and after the establishment of the NG-CDF, I know that the difference it makes is monumental. I believe there is a way CDF can be aligned to the tenets of the Constitution.

In this regard, I also hasten to add that both Houses should also be adequately resourced for oversight duties.

opportunity for all, where every Kenyan is proud to call home. Let us all play our part in the service of our employers, the people of Kenya.

Going into the future, I will be making other statements. Today, I will make my Statement short. May the good Lord bless you and the great people of Kenya. Thank you.

Hon. Members, please, be upstanding. Your Excellency the President, Rt. Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Members, we have come to the conclusion of the business of the day and it is now time to adjourn.

The Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 4th October 2022, at 2.30 p.m. in the Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings.

Hon. Members, the National Assembly equally stands adjourned until Tuesday, 4th October 2022, at 2.30 p.m.

Before we adjourn, my apologies to the Members of the Judiciary. Those who carried my speech left out the acknowledgment of our members of the Judiciary present in the House. Apart from the Chief Justice, we have the Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Philomena Mwilu.

Similarly, we have Justice Daniel Musinga, President of the Court of Appeal; Lady Justice Hannah Okwengu, Judge of the Court of Appeal; Hon. Mr. Justice Eric Ogola, the Principal Judge of the High Court; Lady Justice Maureen Onyango the Principal Judge of the Employment and Labour Courts of Kenya; and the Hon. Anne Amadi, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.