Kenya Agriculture Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Directorate of Horticulture and Brand Kenya are all eyeing the fund, making it difficult for the National Treasury to disburse it.
The Ministry of Trade is pushing for Brand Kenya to get money for marketing while the Ministry of Agriculture wants it to be allocated to Kephis.
Stakeholders in the horticulture industry wanted the funds to be issued to Kenya Airways to address the current high cost of freight.
Competition among government agencies over the allocation of a Sh1.5 billion economic stimulus package for the flower and horticulture sectors has delayed the release of the funds aimed at promoting exports.
Kenya Agriculture Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Directorate of Horticulture and Brand Kenya are all eyeing the fund, making it difficult for the National Treasury to disburse it.
The Ministry of Trade is pushing for Brand Kenya to get money for marketing while the Ministry of Agriculture wants it to be allocated to Kephis.
Stakeholders in the horticulture industry wanted the funds to be issued to Kenya Airways to address the current high cost of freight. However, these government agencies want the funds to be given to them to promote their campaigns.
“We want this money to be released as soon as possible to the national carrier to help address the high cost of freight,” said Ojepati Okisegere, chief executive Fresh Produce Consortium.
“The government agencies that want a share of this cash have direct budgetary allocation from the Treasury and they can request funds without necessarily eyeing for a share of the stimulus package,” he added.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the Sh1.5 billion in May to support flower and horticulture producers to access international markets.
The cost of a kilo of cargo at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Europe currently ranges from Sh500 on average from Sh200 at the same time last year.
As a result , Kenya’s horticultural produce is increasingly becoming uncompetitive in the world market, largely due to the higher freight charges.
Stakeholders had argued that the total airfreight capacity deployment for Kenya at the moment is approximately 3,000 tonnes against a market requirement of 4,500 tonnes per week during the low season, with a net shortfall of 1,500 tonnes weekly.
They wanted the funds to be used to close this capacity gap by deploying thrice weekly scheduled flights to London, and two weekly schedules to Amsterdam and Paris on the passenger aircraft to support the Industry market competitiveness in Europe.
This would be at agreed freight rates of between $1.50 a kilo in the low season of July to September, and $1.60 per kilo during the peak season of October to March.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
