The National Treasury in its Medium Term 2024 Budget Policy Statement, indicated that different sectors in the economy had recorded less than 3 per cent growth in 2023 Q3.
Among the sectors that recorded the dismal performance were led by Cabinet Secretaries Salim Mvurya (Mining), Kipchumba Murkomen (Transport), Zachariah Njeru (Water) and Davis Chirchir (Energy).
Noteworthy, the Treasury noted that despite a challenging environment, the Kenyan economy continued to demonstrate resilience with growth performance above the global and Sub-Saharan average.
“This growth was primarily underpinned by a rebound in agricultural activities which grew by an average of 7.0 per cent in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to a contraction of 1.8 per cent during the same period in 2022,” the Policy Statement revealed.
“All economic sectors recorded positive growth rates in the first three quarters of 2023, though the magnitudes varied across activities.”
Mining and Quarrying sectors which fall under Mvurya’s docket recorded the least growth of 1.1 per cent. In Q2, the sector had posted an impressive growth of 5.2 per cent.
Electricity and Water sectors under Chirchir and Njeru’s dockets were the second least-growing with a 1.9 per cent quarterly growth rate.
The Transport and Storage sector under Kipchumba Murkomen on the other hand, registered a 2.8 per cent growth.
Top performing sectors included; Accommodation and Restaurant (26 per cent), Financial and Insurance (14.7 per cent) and Information and Communication (7.3 per cent).
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing also posted an impressive growth of 6.7 per cent.
Wholesale and Retail trade, Accommodation and Food services which fall under Alfred Mutua’s docket registered 26 per cent growth due to post-pandemic tourism growth.
On why ICT under Eliud Owalo had huge growth, the National Treasury stated, “It was driven by increases in wireless internet and fibre-to-home subscriptions.”
On the other hand, the 14.7 per cent growth under the National Treasury led by Njuguna Ndung’u was occasioned by strong private sector credit growth, increased yield on investment and increased return on deposits by commercial banks.
“The strong performance was reflected in enhanced production, especially of food crops that led to a significant increase in exports of tea, coffee, vegetables and fruits,” Treasury commented on the exponential growth of the agriculture sector.
