The government has revised the supplementary budget No. III for the Financial Year 2024/25 to now accommodate new approvals, among other adjustments for the financial year, with new approvals amounting to Ksh33.9 billion.

This is aimed at funding 13 state departments under Article 223 of the constitution, which allows the national government to spend money that has not been specifically appropriated in the national budget.

Out of the total amount, Ksh23.22 billion was disbursed between April 4 and June 15 of this year, from which various sectors got their funding while others got forgone.

Between May 15 and June 17 of this year, the National Treasury got an allocation of Ksh4.999 billion against a budget of Ksh5 billion, which was meant for leasing police motor vehicles, while the state department for higher learning and research got a disbursement of Ksh1 billion for sponsoring government students in private universities.

The State Department for Internal Security and National Administration received a disbursement of Ksh1.5 billion for security operations, while the National Intelligence Service received a disbursement of Ksh1.7 billion for security operations.

Additionally, the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs received funding of Ksh10.2 billion against a budget of Ksh12 billion, while the state department for sports got funding of Ksh1.6 billion for CHAN hosting rights.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, through a document submitted to parliament last Friday, justified this, saying that in the FY 2024/25 supplementary estimates No. III, some programmes have exceeded the 10 per cent threshold.

“The National Treasury is therefore requesting Special approval of the expenditure adjustment which is beyond the 10 per cent threshold in accordance with Regulation 40(9) of the Public Finance Management Regulations, 2015,” he said.

At the same time, State House got a disbursement of Ksh1.788 billion for the operation and maintenance.

Collectively, the new total allocation to the office as per the document presented to legislators by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) stands at Ksh11.66 billion, up from the approved estimates of Ksh7.9 billion, representing a change of 46.4 per cent.

This reflects an additional allocation of Ksh3.6 billion compared to the previous estimates.

“The National Treasury has approved additional expenditures under article 223 of the constitution, amounting to Ksh34 billion. This comprises Ksh28.5 billion under recurrent and Ksh5.5 billion under the Development Budget. Out of this amount, Ksh23.2 billion has been disbursed,” the document reads in part.

While this happens, the State Department for Roads, although having no recurrent expenditure budget during the period, required a development allocation of Ksh480 million but got zero disbursement, with the amount being meant for the construction of various road projects.

The overall approved estimates for the roads department amounted to Ksh136.4 billion, but the amount was revised downwards to Ksh124.6 billion, which affects various roads allocations despite them being core.

The State Department for Information Communication Technology & Digital Economy, one of the sectors that the current regime also puts hope on, got zero disbursements during the period despite requiring Ksh3.5 billion for development, categorised as foreign-financed – Contraction works for Kenya AIST project.

Currently, the government is aiming to have the sector to be among the key drivers of the economy due to its potential in regard to e-commerce.

In the approved estimates, the sector, however, received an additional funding of Ksh2.2 billion, bringing the new allocation to Ksh11. 4 billion.

“This was majorly due to changes in donor funding,” the document containing the approved estimates reads in part.

The energy sector currently needs significant investments to help solve the power interruptions and bring down the cost of electricity that most Citizens are grappling with, as well as industries which are the largest consumers of electricity.

From the Ksh23.3 billion that got disbursed during the period, the sector did not receive any funding despite requiring Ksh1.13 billion for development, being categorised as a foreign-financed Olkaria geothermal 1,2,3 power plant rehabilitation project.

However, while having an agricultural-led economy, the government again has not disbursed any amount to the sector despite seeking Ksh385 million.