Gvnt To Introduce a New Levy To Fund To School Feeding Program
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has revealed the government’s plans to introduce a new levy to fund school feeding program.
The new levy will mainly affect some imported junk food items.
On Tuesday, June 11, Kipsang told the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education that the Ministry was in talks with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) about placing a fee on imported junk food.
He explained that the goal was to ringfence the tax to ensure that all funds raised went to the feeding program.
The PS noted that the levy was one of several initiatives aimed at funding the programme, which was facing budgetary difficulties.
“He indicated that there was a proposal to allocate 2.5% of the country’s earnings to the initiative.
“He further disclosed that the ministry was in negotiation with the Kenya Revenue Authority to impose a levy on imported junk food to be ringfenced to cover the national feeding program,” the statement partially attributed to Parliament read.
Nevertheless, additional information, such as the levy rate and the potential commencement date of the levy, remained undisclosed.
Gvnt To Introduce a New Levy To Fund To School Feeding Program
Among the notable junk foods consumed by Kenyans are cakes, biscuits, chocolate and sweets, processed meats like bacon, and sugary drinks. As a result, the prices of food items will skyrocket following the imposition of the levy.
Notably, the school feeding program is one of the areas that saw budget cuts in the upcoming budget.
The 2024/2025 plan has been given Ksh3 billion, compared to Ksh5.4 billion in the current budget.
As a result, with plans to raise revenue through the tax, many kids are projected to gain.
Gvnt To Introduce a New Levy To Fund To School Feeding Program
“PS Kipsang assured Members that, despite the current challenges, Kenya, as a member of the Global School Meals Coalition, is dedicated to achieving universal school meals by 2030, increasing existing coverage from 2.6 million to 10 million learners.
According to the PS, the initiative, which began in 1979 after the country was stricken by a catastrophic drought that affected 80% of the population and resulted in school dropouts, has steadily expanded to cover a total of 2.6 million learners in 8,185 schools across the country as of 2024.
