User:ESP KENYA

Definition

ESP is an intensive, high impact programme, that stimulates economic activity, creates employment opportunities, encourages innovation in wealth-creation, spurs entrepreneurship, and supports the building blocks that anchor a healthy, educated, innovative populace. By leveraging ESP, the Government clearly demonstrates its commitment to revitalize the economy and set it back on a sustainable medium to long-term term economic growth trajectory. ESP affirms that Government planning evolves in a consistent and systematic manner, characterized by a comprehensive and strategic economic development growth continuum aimed at achieving current socio-economic priorities. The ESP targets sectors that have strong multiplier effects on economic growth and is strategically designed to addressing existing regional inter-generational imbalances. Activities covered under the ESP range from irrigation-based agriculture, construction of wholesale and fresh-produce markets, fish ponds, ‘Jua Kali’ sheds, to tree planting construction of social infrastructures such as schools, health centres, roads, tapping into our human capital resources to contribute towards social welfare improvement and achievement of the MDGs

History

The Sh22 billion-stimulus program which was initiated in the 2009/2010 financial budget to jump-start the economy following its slump and was launched in July last year by Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta when Kenya's economy plummeted from a high of 7.1 percent in 2007 to 1.7 percent following twin effects of the post election violence and the global economic crisis. The choice of intervention measures of the ESP are framed within broader policy objectives, as stipulated in the Vision 2030, the current national development blue-print. Agenda 4, and the recently promulgated new Constitution.

Key objectives

•	To boost the country’s economic recovery and return the economy back to the envisioned medium term growth path

•	To invest in long term solutions to the challenges of food security

•	To expand economic opportunities in rural areas for employment creation;

•	To promote regional development for equity and social stability;

•	To improve infrastructure and the quality education and healthcare for all Kenyans

•	To invest in the conservation of the environment; and

•	To expand the access to, and build the ICT capacity of our people in order to expand their economic opportunities and accelerate economic growth.

SUMMARY OF ESP PROJECTS

Some of the activities covered under the ESP include expansion of irrigation-based agriculture, construction of wholesale and fresh-produce markets, construction and stocking of fish ponds with fingerlings, provision of aquaculture advisory services, fish ponds and ‘Jua Kali’ sheds and tree planting among other activities that are core to the mainstay of our rural and urban population. Other projects include construction of social infrastructures such as schools, health centers and roads, as well as tapping into our human capital resources to contribute to social welfare improvement and achievement of the MDGs

The Ministry of Public Works was also mandated with the task of technical supervision of the ESP projects in all Constituencies