As the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi plans to appear before the National Assembly this afternoon to present the budget estimates for the coming financial year, the State House is set to receive up to Ksh3.1 billion.

Despite the austerity measures pledge, the amount according to the Budget Summary by the line ministry dated April 30, 2025, represents 16.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and will be used to cover expenditures such as salaries and utilities, among other expenditure costs.

This allocation is an upward revision from the previous Ksh2.4 billion in the revised budget estimates for the financial year 2025/26.

A different report, however, highlights that the allocation amounts to Ksh2.3 billion, out of which Ksh894.9 million will be used for general maintenance at the State House in Nairobi and other State Lodges.

As of February, the national office had spent approximately Ksh775 million of the projected Ksh1.77 billion for the facelift activities.

While the new figure is already planned for in the national budget, critical sectors such as education, specifically university funding, agriculture and health, remain underfunded even though there has been a slight increase in the allocation.

Under education, for example, approximately Ksh701 billion has been allocated for the whole financial year, which is equivalent to 28.1 per cent of the total allocation according to a statement by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

“This includes school capitation for primary, JSS, Secondary, TVET, and University institutions; remuneration of teachers, instructors, and lecturers; and development of school and learning infrastructure, among other critical areas in the education sector,” the statement highlights.

This is from the previous Ksh676.36 billion that had been allocated in the current financial year.

Last week, while appearing before the National Assembly budget committee, Julius Melly, National Assembly Education Committee chairperson, noted that the amount would be in support of the administration’s invigilation of national examinations.

“Examinations are a critical component of our education system. Without proper funding, the credibility and effectiveness of the assessment process are at risk,” he said in a report by Parliament.

On matters of food security, the National Assembly Agriculture and Livestock Committee highlights that the sector in the coming financial year faces an underfunding of Ksh14.53 billion that, according to them, is essential in enhancing food security.

In 2024, the sector was able to record an impressive performance, notably factored by the long rains and the supply of affordable fertilisers to farmers.

However, to further boost the sector, the country will have to shift its focus to specialised input materials that can be able to survive under adverse weather conditions in the event of reduced rainfalls.

President Ruto, back in 2022, had pledged to help the country move away from rain-fed agriculture, but the outputs are yet to be seen nationally.

In this regard, the committee argues that the Kenya Seed Company, which plays a significant role in providing subsidised maize seed prices to help farmers manage seed costs, has an underfunding of Ksh1.7 billion, which they argue could impact the timely access to essential planting materials.