MPs allocate themselves Sh2b more in budget
Members of Parliament have increased their budget allocation for the 2024/2025 financial year by Sh2 billion.
In the 2024 Budget Policy Statement, the second under the Kenya Kwanza administration, the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly readjusted the allocation to Parliament from Sh41.6 billion to Sh43.6 billion.
The Executive has also benefitted from the new adjustments with a further Sh50 billion. The National Treasury had allocated Sh2.4388 trillion but the committee has made an increment to Sh2.488 trillion.
The Judiciary allocations remained unchanged at Sh23.69 billion up from the figure proposed by the National Treasury. However, it is an increment of Sh1.3 billion from the Sh 22.8 billion in the current financial year.
The committee which is chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro (pictured), recommended that, consistent with the approved borrowing strategy in the medium-term debt management strategy, the projected fiscal deficit be set at Sh703.9 being the difference between total revenues and grants and total expenditure and net lending.
The committee has recommended that the allocations to county government equitable share be approved at Sh391 billion.
“That consistent with the latest audited and approved revenues for the 2021/2022 financial year amounting to Sh1.7 trillion, the allocation to the Equalization Fund be set at Sh7.85 billion,” the committee recommended.
Further, the committee resolved that the arrears to the Equalization Fund be set at Sh3.55 billion in the next financial year.
The committee noted that since assuming office, the Kenya Kwanza government had implemented bold policy responses to mitigate the negative global and persistent shocks that have pushed the economy to its lowest level and embarked on structural reforms to stabilise government finances and the economy.
These shocks include global supply chain disruptions due to ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and high-interest rates.