The change was approved during a cabinet meeting chaired by the president at State House, Nairobi, in line with former President Daniel Arap Moi’s desire that the day be commemorated as a day of service and volunteerism.
Boxing Day which falls on 26th December was also renamed to Utamaduni Day.
Utamaduni Day will be set aside to celebrate the country’s rich cultural diversity and heritage. The proposed amendments to the Public Holidays Act will take effect once approved by Parliament.
The renaming comes after the cabinet approved amendments under the proposals to amend the Public Holidays Act (Cap 109).
The Cabinet also approved the coming into operation of the New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union (KPCU) as well as the immediate operationalization of the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund.
Cabinet also discussed the issue of pending bills and reiterated that all arms of Government should move quickly to settle all bills that were audited and verified by the Office of the Auditor-General.
Further, the Cabinet approved the establishment of an inter-agency team to verify historical pending bills worth Shs 40 billion within one month.
The incentives which include “one stop shop” approach to licence approvals, tax concessions and waivers of various levies for personnel and equipment is expected to encourage both local and international filmmakers to use locations in Kenya for their productions.
