President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that the Government will waive duty on dates during the Holy month of Ramadhan.
The President said duty on dates during the month of June and July 2016 will be waived to help the Muslim community to fulfil their religious obligations.
Speaking when he led Kenyans in marking the first national Madaraka Day celebrations to be held at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru since independence, President Kenyatta sent a message of goodwill and best wishes to Kenyan Muslims as they prepare to observe the Holy Month of Ramadhan.
“As our Muslim brothers and sisters prepare to observe this holy month of fasting and purification, I send them my best wishes,” President Kenyatta said.
He directed the State Department for Special Programmes to ensure that vulnerable families are supported with the foods they will require during the Ramadhan period.
President Kenyatta affirmed his commitment to the success of devolution, saying the decision to share celebrations of the country’s nationhood among the counties is part of his administration’s desire to include every Kenyan, in word and in deed.
“Our journey since that first Madaraka day has been one of growing political and administrative maturity. Today, we have constitutionally devolved the responsibilities of governance to 47 counties,” President Kenyatta said.
In embracing devolution, the President said the Government has set the stage for equitable access to resources and opportunities.
He added that devolution has brought Government services closer to the people and reshaped the country’s representative politics.
“That’s why we are in Nakuru today. We are here because Government is no longer a distant administration based in Nairobi. The Government is now part and parcel of this community as well as all other communities across Kenya,” he said.
President Kenyatta disclosed that this year’s Mashujaa Day, on October 20, will be held in Machakos county for the first time in the country’s history.
