Income tax, value-added tax and sales levy cuts announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week are long-term, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani revealed Monday.

The tax incentives are not tied to the end of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning that Kenyan workers and companies will continue enjoying them even after the spread of the virus has been contained.

Mr Yatani told the Business Daily that the tax cuts, which he was to present to Parliament Monday, are meant to jump-start growth.

President Kenyatta and his deputy will take an 80% pay cut, while their ministers and their assistants will take pay cuts ranging from 20% to 30%.

The President also announced a raft of measures to save jobs and by extension the country’s economy.

These include:

Speaking during the event, Alumni Association Chairman, Mr. Isaac Awuondo observed that about 4000 students have benefited from the yearly scholarships, since the Alumni Association was established in 2005. He said that the aim to support scholarship beneficiaries get internships, jobs, work study programs and mentorship from the Alumni. The scholarship opportunities are only open to first years, but overwhelming applications were received from continuing students, signaling the need to broaden the list of beneficiaries.

In a live stream broadcast that reached over 22, 000 people, the UoN experts took time to demystify and correct false information that has been in the public on the corona virus.

Dr. Masika who moderated the session gave a brief introduction on the Corona virus said “It’s named corona virus because it looks like a crown; with a death toll of over 4,900 and over 126,000 infected across the globe.”

Kenya has set aside Sh500 million to help the tourism sector recover from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, which is now threatening global economies.

Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala said part of the funds will be used in marketing Kenya to restore destination confidence and keep the country as a preferred travel destination globally.

The rest will be used for the post-coronavirus recovery strategy in all Kenya's key source markets.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said all efforts were being to mobilise resources in the battle against the voracious insects that threaten food security.

“We have received Sh1.9 billion from the two institutions and this will go a long way in combating the locust menace,” said Mr Munya.

The World Bank has given Kenya Sh1.4 billion while the African Development Bank (AfDB) is said to have released Sh500 million to the government, which is still scouting for additional funds to fight the migratory insects.

While the residential real estate sector has slumped in the recent past, the student accommodation sector has been booming.

The S&P 500 declined by more than 7% at the opening bell, causing the New York Stock Exchange to apply a 15-minute circuit breaker. This is the second time trading was halted on Wall Street to prevent stocks from falling further. During Monday’s session, the S&P 500 collapsed 7%, activating level 1 circuit breaker.

The Dow dropped over 2,150 points losing 9.18% at 09:54 am ET while the Nasdaq 100 dropped by 7.42% at 10.00 am CET.