Members of Parliament have proposed a reduction of funds to the three arms of government in the current financial year as part of the ongoing austerity measures to reduce public spending.
The National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee now wants allocations to the three arms of government, constitutional commissions and independent offices reduced by about Sh156.4 billion.
The proposals, contained in the Supplementary Estimates 1 for the 2024/25 financial year, have also called for a reduction in development expenditure by about Sh122.4 billion.
Committee chairman Ndindi Nyoro, in a report set to be tabled before the House for debate, argues that much of the reduced development expenditure, will largely target projects that are domestically financed through exchequer issues.
However, projects financed by development partner loans and grants amounting to over Sh240 billion have been retained in the budget. The recurrent expenditure for ministries has been reduced by Sh34 billion.
This modest reduction has ensured that critical recurrent items amounting to over Sh100 billion such as the proposed allocation for free day secondary education, free primary education and Junior Secondary Schools have not been rationalized.
On the other hand, the Consolidated Fund Services (CFS) expenditures have increased by Sh23.8 billion, while the county equitable share has been reduced by Sh20 billion from Sh400.1 billion to Sh380.1 billion.
However, as a result of carryovers from the FY 2023/24 amounting to around Sh30.8 billion, the Equitable Share to counties reflected in the FY 2024/25 Supplementary Estimates No. 1 is Sh410.95 billion which is Sh10.8 billion above the Division of Revenue Act, 2024 figure of Sh400.1 billion.
The reductions came after the Budget Committee finalized consideration of the Supplementary Estimates 1 for the 2024/25 financial year, ahead of its tabling in the House this week.
This follows the submission of the estimates by the Principal Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning.
Nyoro cited the critical economic state the country is in, urging the committee chairpersons to look into areas where there is dire need for funding, and those whose expenditures can be rationalized.
The committee chairpersons presented their observations and recommendations drawn from the meetings they held with the MDAs under their purview earlier last week.
They had proposed areas that funds can be reallocated, decreased or increased, based on the magnitude of the projects being undertaken.
Further, they highlighted challenges presented by the MDAs and SAGAs that are bound to be experienced as a result of the budget cuts.
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