Cabinet backs a Sh45.4 billion lifeline for Kenya Airways, Sh23.7 billion to clear unpaid supplier bills and 100,000 electric cookers for Nairobi and its neighbours
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Cabinet backs a Sh45.4 billion lifeline for Kenya Airways, Sh23.7 billion to clear unpaid supplier bills and 100,000 electric cookers for Nairobi and its neighbours.
The Cabinet met at State House, Nairobi, on Friday 9 October with President William Ruto in the chair. It approved a long list of spending decisions. These are the ones that matter most to readers in Kibra and Nairobi.
Kenya Airways: Sh45.4 billion now, and Sh122 billion of old loans reworked
The Government will put 350 million US dollars, about Sh45.4 billion, into Kenya Airways as shareholder financing. It will be paid in stages under the National Treasury's watch.
The money is for urgent bills, including aircraft maintenance and getting grounded planes flying again.
The airline has up to 10 years to repay. The Government can instead turn the loan into shares.
Separately, Sh122 billion that Kenya Airways already owes the Government, plus interest, will be turned into an instrument that can be traded and later converted into shares. The aim is to clean up the airline's books so that it can raise money from investors.
None of this is final. It still needs approval from the airline's board, its shareholders and regulators. Kenya Airways is still making losses, driven by fuel and maintenance costs, reported.
Unpaid bills: Sh23.74 billion for 28,726 claims
Cabinet approved payment of 28,726 verified pending bills worth Sh23.74 billion. Each is for Sh50 million or less.
They are 98 per cent of the 29,257 claims that the Pending Bills Verification Committee recommended for payment. The committee received 115,617 claims worth Sh664.8 billion and recommended Sh155.34 billion.
The Treasury is to pay small businesses first, especially those owned by women, young people and people with disabilities. Bills above Sh50 million will be paid over time.
Some suppliers have been waiting since 2005. No payment dates were given.
These are debts owed by the national government. They are separate from the Sh86.9 billion in unpaid bills at Nairobi City County.
Electric cookers: 100,000 for Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado
Cabinet approved an 8.8 million US dollar programme, about Sh1.1 billion, to support the take-up of 100,000 electric cooking appliances in the four counties. The Cabinet statement says it will promote cleaner cooking and cut the smoke households breathe.
What has not been said: who qualifies, whether the cookers will be free or sold at a lower price, which agency will run the programme and when it starts.
The cookers are part of a wider energy plan, the Kenya National Energy Compact, which aims to bring in about Sh2.47 trillion of investment and connect 5.1 million more households to electricity by 2030.
Health
An Sh8 billion programme with France for head and neck surgery units at Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the University of Nairobi Dental Hospital, along with cancer treatment and training for 5,000 community health workers.
A new 2,000-bed Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret and a 1,000-bed Level Six hospital in Mombasa.
300 more beds at each of 13 Level Five hospitals. None of the 13 is in Nairobi.
Cabinet also reviewed Ebola preparedness after the single imported case.
Roads and water
Three road corridors totalling 909 kilometres: the South Rift – Lake Region Gateway (253km), the Great Highlands Connectivity Corridor (256km) and the Lake Victoria Ring Road (about 400km) through Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori. Work is due to start in November, reported.
An extra Sh12.83 billion to finish Thwake Dam, which is to supply water to about 1.3 million people in Makueni and Kitui.
What it means for Kibra
If you are offered a "registration" for the electric cooker programme, do not pay. No registration has been announced, and no agency has been named to run it.
If your business is owed Sh50 million or less by a national government ministry or agency and the claim was verified and recommended for payment, it should be in the group approved on Friday. Ask the office that owes you when the Treasury will release the money.
Head and neck surgery and cancer care at Kenyatta National Hospital, the nearest national referral hospital to Kibra, are due to expand under the France programme. No opening date has been given.
Sources: Capital FM (Cabinet decisions of 9 October); The Star (Kenya Airways and pending bills); The Kenya Times (electric cooking programme); (roads) and (Kenya Airways).
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
The Cabinet met at State House, Nairobi, on Friday 9 October with President William Ruto in the chair. It approved a long list of spending decisions. These are the ones that matter most to readers in Kibra and Nairobi.
Kenya Airways: Sh45.4 billion now, and Sh122 billion of old loans reworked
The Government will put 350 million US dollars, about Sh45.4 billion, into Kenya Airways as shareholder financing. It will be paid in stages under the National Treasury’s watch.
The money is for urgent bills, including aircraft maintenance and getting grounded planes flying again.
The airline has up to 10 years to repay. The Government can instead turn the loan into shares.
Separately, Sh122 billion that Kenya Airways already owes the Government, plus interest, will be turned into an instrument that can be traded and later converted into shares. The aim is to clean up the airline’s books so that it can raise money from investors.
None of this is final. It still needs approval from the airline’s board, its shareholders and regulators. Kenya Airways is still making losses, driven by fuel and maintenance costs, Kenyans.co.ke reported.
Unpaid bills: Sh23.74 billion for 28,726 claims
Cabinet approved payment of 28,726 verified pending bills worth Sh23.74 billion. Each is for Sh50 million or less.
They are 98 per cent of the 29,257 claims that the Pending Bills Verification Committee recommended for payment. The committee received 115,617 claims worth Sh664.8 billion and recommended Sh155.34 billion.
The Treasury is to pay small businesses first, especially those owned by women, young people and people with disabilities. Bills above Sh50 million will be paid over time.
Some suppliers have been waiting since 2005. No payment dates were given.
These are debts owed by the national government. They are separate from the Sh86.9 billion in unpaid bills at Nairobi City County.
Electric cookers: 100,000 for Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado
Cabinet approved an 8.8 million US dollar programme, about Sh1.1 billion, to support the take-up of 100,000 electric cooking appliances in the four counties. The Cabinet statement says it will promote cleaner cooking and cut the smoke households breathe.
What has not been said: who qualifies, whether the cookers will be free or sold at a lower price, which agency will run the programme and when it starts.
The cookers are part of a wider energy plan, the Kenya National Energy Compact, which aims to bring in about Sh2.47 trillion of investment and connect 5.1 million more households to electricity by 2030.
Health
An Sh8 billion programme with France for head and neck surgery units at Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the University of Nairobi Dental Hospital, along with cancer treatment and training for 5,000 community health workers.
A new 2,000-bed Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret and a 1,000-bed Level Six hospital in Mombasa.
300 more beds at each of 13 Level Five hospitals. None of the 13 is in Nairobi.
Cabinet also reviewed Ebola preparedness after the single imported case.
Roads and water
Three road corridors totalling 909 kilometres: the South Rift–Lake Region Gateway (253km), the Great Highlands Connectivity Corridor (256km) and the Lake Victoria Ring Road (about 400km) through Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori. Work is due to start in November, Kenyans.co.ke reported.
An extra Sh12.83 billion to finish Thwake Dam, which is to supply water to about 1.3 million people in Makueni and Kitui.
What it means for Kibra
If you are offered a “registration” for the electric cooker programme, do not pay. No registration has been announced, and no agency has been named to run it.
If your business is owed Sh50 million or less by a national government ministry or agency and the claim was verified and recommended for payment, it should be in the group approved on Friday. Ask the office that owes you when the Treasury will release the money.
Head and neck surgery and cancer care at Kenyatta National Hospital, the nearest national referral hospital to Kibra, are due to expand under the France programme. No opening date has been given.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
