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THE STANDARD By Frankline Sunday | March 12th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300 Counties are set to get an additional Sh26 billion for the 2021/2022 financial year. This is according to the Division of Revenue Bill, 2021, that provides for the revenue sharing formula between the national and county governments. According to the Bill, counties have been allocated Sh370 billion in equitable share, up from Sh343 billion laid out by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani (pictured) in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) earlier this year. In addition to this, counties also have Sh32.3 billion in conditional allocations, including Sh13.1 billion from the World Bank for devolution support, universal healthcare and agriculture projects. ....
“This… is not an austerity budget. This is NOT an austerity budget. This IS NOT an austerity budget.” These were the words Finance Minister Tito Mboweni chanted to the South African public last week during his presentation of the 2021 Budget Review. However, despite his insistence that austerity was not being pursued, the Budget included severe cuts to social spending on programmes such as education and health. Budget 2021 is undeniably an austerity budget. Civil society organisations have raised concerns over the catastrophic impact this will have on the lives and futures of South Africans. On 5 March 2021, economist Michael Sachs, as acting chairperson of the Fiscal and Finance Commission, published a supplementary comment on the Budget that echoes these concerns – that the State has failed to properly consider the Budget’s impact on the realisation of constitutionally protected socioeconomic rights. ....
The 2021 Budget may not be considered an Austerity Budget by Minister Tito Mboweni. It’s not a Human Rights budget either, writes TLAMELO M MOTHUDI In the 2021 budget review, the government outlined a main budget deficit of 7.5% of GDP in 2020/21. That is 1.3 percentage points more than it was in 2019. This is important because a country’s GDP gives an indication of the extent of its economic wealth and performance. Budget deficits indicate lower taxes and increased government spending. This, in turn, may cause higher real GDP inflation – an increase in price of goods and a decrease in the purchasing value of money. ....
The Children Bill 2020 among 14 approved by Cabinet Shares The Cabinet has considered and approved the Children Bill, 2020, among 14 bills sent to the National Assembly. The Bill seeks to address the increased vulnerability of children in Kenya. Broken families and community systems have been associated with the increased vulnerability of children. The Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, approved the bill, in an effort to promote the wellness of the country while being mindful of the the family’s position as the basic unit of the society. The Cabinet noted that the curriculum reforms being instituted under the stewardship of the Ministry of Education will enhance the opportunities available to children in Kenya. ....