- Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s office also faces stringent budget cuts so would be the office of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
- The exchequer also indicated that the budget for the State House would also be reduced further and the savings channeled to other poorly funded areas.
Image: FILE
Budget cuts are looming for the country’s top three offices in enhanced austerity measures by the National Treasury.
The top offices in the country including that of the President and Deputy President stand to lose billions already allocated to them in the next financial year’s budget.
Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo said on Tuesday that the exchequer intends to review and rationalize votes for the office of the President.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s office also faces stringent budget cuts so would be the office of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
The exchequer also indicated that the budget for the State House would also be reduced further and the savings channeled to other poorly funded areas.
“The savings will be used to address the ongoing reforms in the coffee sector, fight against illicit brew and abuse of drugs,” PS Kiptoo said.
The PS did not state the exact amounts that would be slashed from the budgets of the top offices but indicated a detailed list is headed to Parliament.
“These proposed amendments will be considered against the available resources and will be formally submitted to the National Assembly for consideration,” PS Kiptoo said.
He further pointed out that the savings would be used to meet budget shortfalls in the tree planting programme, foreign missions and state visits.
Treasury says the monies would be used to address equity participation and also reinstate budgets that were deducted from state agencies.
PS Kiptoo added that the savings would also go towards addressing shortfalls in the education, security, governance, and justice system sectors.
The top offices were allocated more billions of shillings in the next financial year as budget cuts hit ministries.
Factoring budget for State House, the tops offices were tipped for more than Sh20 billion in the budget as proposed by the National Treasury.
The Executive Office of the President was allocated Sh1.3 billion more compared to this year’s allocation while that of the DP was higher by Sh600 million.
President Ruto’s office has been allocated Sh5.3 billion in the coming financial year which is way above the Sh4 billion the office received this year.
DP Gachagua’s office has been allocated Sh4.8 billion compared to the Sh4.2 billion that was allocated to the office in the current budget.
The Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, on the other hand, has been allocated Sh1.1 billion, which is Sh100 million lower than the Sh1.2 billion in the current budget.
While the three top offices are gearing up for the billions, most ministries, state departments and agencies (MDAs) have been hard hit with stringent budget cuts.
The CS Njuguna Ndung’u-led Treasury has slashed Sh270 billion from what ministries agreed with MPs during the consideration of the 2024 Budget Policy Statement.
PS Kiptoo, while meeting members of the National Assembly Budget Committee chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, said further rationalization would follow.
“MDAs budget was reduced in line with the revised fiscal framework,” he said, adding that the exchequer would also transfer Sh1.1 billion for group personal insurance from the National Treasury to the Public Service department.
This was even as MPs at the Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro-led committee poked holes on the proposed budget citing core crucial areas that are underfunded.
Top of the concerns was on the fate of school feeding programme at a time billions have been proposed for the national tree planting [Sh10 billion].
MPs also sought word on the fate of regional development authorities which have also suffered sustained budget cuts over the years.
Lawmakers also pointed shortfalls in conditional grants [by Sh10 billion] and sought to know the number of agencies affected by the budget cuts.
It also emerged that key agencies have been allocated zero shillings, including crucial sectors especially in the education sector.
MPs also cast doubt on the projected revenues saying this year’s collections have proved that taxpayers are not coughing out as expected.
The committee further asked that the government rethinks how to treat Article 223 of the Constitution [which allows for prior spending].
The question by MPs to Treasury was why it doesn’t use the Contingency Fund yet it is what the Public Finance Management Act has recognized.
“Why don’t we use what is in the contingency fund before we go to Article 223. The PFM Act is clear on the use of contingency fund,” said Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu.
The budget committee also questioned why the government is not meeting its end of the bargain in donor-funded programmes.
“The donor programmes are not doing well because of challenges with the government of Kenya component which is not forthcoming,” said Alego Usonga MP Sam Atandi.