2014/2015 BUDGET: Measures announced to contain extravagance

>Finance minister Saada Mkuya yesterday tabled a budget that seeks to rein in lavish spending as it abolishes expensive tax exemptions. But even though the government promised to reduce the cost of living, the budget presented yesterday did not demonstrate clearly how the man on the street would get relief when it comes to daily household expenses.

>The government has decided to remove tax exemption on imported furniture and introduce duties of 15 per cent on cement imports in a bid to protect local industries in the 2014/15 financial year.

>The government has increased the amount of capital for foreign strategic investors from Sh32 billion ($20 million) to Sh80 billion ($50 million) in order to enable the government to allow tax exemption to essential investors who contribute to the development of the country’s economy.

>The government will continue imposing heavy taxes on  normal products such as cigarettes, beer, wine and soft drinks as usual in a bid to boost the Sh19.5 trillion 2014/2015 budget.

>The national budget unveiled in Parliament yesterday remained largely silent on how the government was going to tackle climate change.

>Mobile phones customers are no longer subjected to excise duty on money transfers through banks, non-bank financial institutions and telecommunications companies.

>The government yesterday outlined eight priority areas in its 2014/15 Budget geared at lowering the cost of living in the country as well as improving social services.

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From the World’s First Injectable Skeleton Regeneration Protein to a Domestic Waste Biogas System, Ten Africans Are Innovating the Future of the Continent

The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) (http://www.africaninnovation.org) announced the finalists of the prestigious Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2014 (http://www.innovationprizeforafrica.org). Ten African innovators have created practical solutions to some of the continent’s most intractable problems, from a domestic waste biogas...