The National Assembly has increased Kenya’s total budget for the financial year ending June to Sh3.56 trillion from Sh3.47 trillion.
This is after an additional Sh5 billion allocated to State House, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi for travel, entertainment and salaries, despite austerity measures
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga are also beneficiaries of increased allocations. The office of retired presidents and deputy presidents has been granted an additional Sh88 million
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This is part of an extra Sh85.8 billion that the Treasury is seeking for the current financial year through a supplementary budget presented to Parliament on Tuesday.
State House will receive Sh3.8 billion, the largest share. The breakdown includes Sh1.5 billion under unexplained expenditures, Sh732.2 million for domestic travel, Sh700 million for salaries and perks, and Sh312.4 million for car maintenance
Kindiki’s office will get Sh420.4 million for salaries and travel, while PCS Mudavadi’s office has been allocated an additional Sh133.4 million.
The increase in recurrent expenditure comes as the government pushes to limit non-essential spending like travel and entertainment amid a financial crunch caused by lower-than-expected tax revenues.
The situation worsened following the withdrawal of last year’s Finance Bill, which had projected additional revenues of Sh345 billion.
“Since the approval of the FY 2024/25 budget, the National Treasury has received additional requests for funding to cater for emergency priorities and shortfalls under critical expenditures,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said in a notice attached to the supplementary budget
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Treasury revealed that revenue collections were Sh62.8 billion below target in the six months leading to December, attributing the shortfall to reduced economic activity triggered by protests against the Finance Bill.
While budget allocations to education, security, and healthcare have been increased, spending on water, housing, and energy has been cut, pushing the overall budget size up by Sh85.8 billion