The Principal Secretary (PS) National Treasury, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, has called on Kenyans to work hard to improve the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a bid to improve the economy.
The PS said the country was experiencing a very tight fiscal state, saying the Treasury had just presented a Sh.4.2 trillion budget to Parliament, which required financing through taxes but which is not enough with expenditure being higher than revenue collected.
Speaking after distributing 100,000 coffee seedlings to farmers in the Tambach region, the PS said to balance between the two, the country is forced to borrow both locally and internationally but said the capacity to borrow was becoming slim.
He therefore said the only option remaining was for Kenyans to work hard and expand the national cake by increasing the GDP, which currently stands at Sh.19 trillion.
“If we can manage to double that within the next two years, then the country will be in a better place financially,” he said.
He therefore called on farmers in the area to not only plant but manage the coffee seedlings, saying one tree can give a farmer Sh.10,000, which means farmers in the area will be earning Sh.1 billion in the next 3 years once the trees mature.
Noting that the growth of coffee will also assist in conserving the environment, the PS called on the county leadership to map out what can be grown in the three county’s ecological zones to enable farmers to earn an income even as they conserve the environment.
Saying that the livelihood of residents living next to forests was intertwined with the existence of the forest, Dr. Kiptoo said residents needed to agree on how they can protect the forest while improving their livelihoods.
“We are appealing to you to engage in activities that will earn you an income like zero grazing and planting of cash crops like tea in the highlands, coffee in the hanging valley and fruits like mango in the Kerio Valley,” he said.
Speaking during the same occasion, PS forestry Gitonga Mugambi called on residents to allow the fencing of forests, saying it was the best internationally accepted practice in the conservation of forests.
He said the fencing will not deny them forest user rights, adding they will ensure that they continue benefitting from them in terms of provision of clean air and water.
By Alice Wanjiru
