Unlike the previous years, when the national budget is presented on the second week of June, this year Treasury CS Ukur Yatani will be presenting the budget two months in advance to allow time for MPs to campaign before the national elections .
But what has not changed is the continued increase in budget estimates year on year, with this year’s budget at Ksh 3.3 trillion shillings; the country’s biggest budget yet.
In accordance with the budget policy statement, the national treasury has placed emphasis on the economic recovery of the country after the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic and the completion of the big 4 agenda projects underway .
In the budget expected to be presented on Thursday by CS Yatani , the Education sector is the biggest beneficiary, with an allocation of Ksh 525B.
A majority of the funds Ksh 295B, to be absorbed by the Teachers’ Service Commission. Early learning and basic education get Ksh 106B.
The energy, infrastructure and ICT sectors were banded together in the budget with an allocation of Ksh 368B with the Ministry of Energy getting Ksh 85.1B and Ministry of petroleum and mining expected to get Ksh 9.3B.
Under public administration and international relations, the Office of the President is set to get Ksh 8.1B, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will get Ksh 19B, the national treasury allocating itself Ksh 189.9B, state department of Planning which is under the national treasury has also been allocated Ksh 48B.
National security has been allocated Ksh 203 billion, with the ministry of defence getting Ksh 157 B and the national intelligence service getting Ksh 45B.
Under governance, justice, law and order, the sector has been allocated Ksh 231B with the national police service getting Ksh 143B, State department of correctional services getting Ksh 30B and the judiciary expected to get Ksh 18.2 B
The agriculture sector has been allocated Ksh 60 billion shillings, but this has caused an uproar among sector analysts who say that it has been underfunded for years yet its the most critical in the country .
“Are we growing in the right direction If you ask me today where I see the biggest allocations should be will be in food sustainability because we cannot rely on rains as we do not have a contact with god to know when exactly the rains will come,” Benson Okundi- Partner, Govt and public sector analyst says
“We expect to see some of the irrigation projects that were launched under president Kenyatta’s tenure completed because looking at the past year agriculture as a sector has really suffered,”
Out of the Ksh 3.3T, Ksh 2.14T will be sourced from ordinary revenues with the remaining coming from borrowed funds leaving a fiscal deficit of Ksh 846B.
The government has room to borrow Ksh 400B,. having borrowed Ksh 8.6 trillion and with the cap of Ksh 9 trillion .