Most Kenyans welcome free maternal healthcare

Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Henry Rotich during the reading of the 2013/2014 budget at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on June 13th, 2013. The majority of Kenyans have welcomed free maternal healthcare being offered by the government, a new opinion poll has shown. FILE 

By NATION REPORTER, June 20  201

In Summary

• The second most popular proposal was the money for the youth to set up business enterprises, which was backed by 12 per cent of the respondents.  

The majority of Kenyans have welcomed free maternal healthcare being offered by the government, a new opinion poll has shown.

The poll conducted by Ipsos Synovate indicates that the programme was the most popular among the proposals presented by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich when he read the Budget Statement last week, with 23 per cent of the respondents saying they liked it most.

The second most popular proposal was the money for the youth to set up business enterprises, which was backed by 12 per cent of the respondents.  

The plan to impose Value Added Tax on foodstuff was the most unpopular of all the proposals.

Of the 1,543 Kenyans sampled during the poll, 86 per cent rejected the proposal to tax agricultural inputs and processed foodstuff such as maize flour, milk and bread.

They argued that the move would hurt poor Kenyans, who are already suffering from high cost of living.