NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 15 – President William Ruto’s administration has tabled its first budget in power amounting to Sh 3.6 Trillion in the financial year 2023/2024 with 700 billion of the budgets financed through borrowing.
The budget will increase with Sh 251 Billion as the budget for the last budget during retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was Sh 3.39 Trillion.
The government plans to spend 2.5 trillion shillings on recurrent expenses and Ksh 769.3 billion on development.
In the budget policy statement tabled by the Budget and Appropriation Committee Chair Ndindi Nyoro the national government will receive Sh 2.25 Trillion with devolved units apportioned Sh 385 Billion.
In the 2.25 Trillion,2.1 Trillion has been allocated to the Executive with Parliament receiving 40 Billion and Judiciary getting an allocation of Sh 22.9Billion.
The Auditor General has received a share of 7.6Billion, Equalization Fund Sh 7.8Billion, Conditional Grant Sh 44Billion and the Medical Equipment Scheme Sh 4.5Billion.
The government will be forced to borrow Sh 700 billion out of which Sh 198.6 billion will be raised from external sources and Sh 521.5 billion from the domestic market.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has been tasked to collect Ksh 3 trillion in the financial year 2023/24, up from Ksh 2 trillion collected in the last financial year.
The taxman has been directed to implement various tax policy measures to boost tax collection to be in tandem with the revenue target.
While tabling the report, Nyoro stated that the budget has focused on vital pillars in the Kenya Kwanza Administration bottom up economic model which include Agriculture, Health Care and Housing.
“We foresee an economy that will be growing at 6 percent at a time when the global economy will be growing at 2 percent,” he said.
Further he noted that the 2023/2024 budget policy statements, the National Government Constituency Development Fund ceiling had been increased from Sh 44Billion to Sh 55 Billion.
“After consultations with the executive, some of the recommendations that we have made is in tandem with the executive as they appreciate most of the work will be done through CDF. To this effect and on the ceiling it is important for the members to note that we have added an extra Sh 1billion to take care of our women representatives,” he said.
“Something interesting that this house should take note of is that we have increased tge CDF ceiling from Sh 44 billion n in the last financial year to Sh 55 billion which means that each constituent will get an additional Sh 20 to 30 million,” Nyoro added.
While seconding the motion, Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu supported the Budget Policy Statement for the year 2023/2024 but he however argued in the implementation of programs by both units of government should be clear implementation framework.
“We have realized that as a result of not having a clear implementation framework we are not able to implement most of the projects we put under conditional grants,” said Mulu.
Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba lauded the efforts to increase the budget ceiling of the NGCDF saying it will go a long way in terms of spurring growth in the constituency level especially in the education sector.
“We must work very hard so that we showcase because we have many distractors outside there who don’t believe in our work. We have to work very hard so as to prove that this is a better channel of getting money to the ground,”said Milemba.
Deputy Minority Leader Robert Mbui poked holes in the budget policy statement by pointing out that its not friendly to the common mwananchi at a time when they are battling with the high cost of living.
“The budget should be friendly to Wanjiku and Mueni and we must ensure the prioritization of these government is on things that are going to be beneficial to all our voters,”
“I have looked at these statement and am wondering where is it that the issue of the mwananchi have been addressed, where is it that the cost of living is being brought down,or the cost of Unga is being brought down. That is why we have a date with destiny to demonstrate on the 20th of March,”Mbui stated.
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