The charade of MPs grilling National Treasury officials over a Ksh218.5 billion funding shortfall in the 2023/2024 financial year is, quite frankly, laughable.

This is a classic case of politicians chasing shadows instead of confronting the brutal truth, and I dare say, the real source of the problem. While MPs lashed out at Treasury mandarins like directors Bernard Ndungu (accounting services), Director of Budget Francis Anyona (budget), and John Anjera (planning – macro and fiscal affairs) last week, the true responsibility lies much higher up the food chain.

The Treasury, after all, does not operate in a vacuum. It implements policies that are conceived, blessed, and overseen by the highest office in the land the State House. Isn’t it the truth that the Presidency and its inner circle of economic advisers sets the tone for fiscal policy, determine spending priorities, and approves the projects that ultimately shape the national budget?

So suddenly feeling clever and blaming Treasury officials for the lack of disbursements is akin to blaming the foot soldiers for the failures of a general who leads them into battle. The buck, as it is often said, stops elsewhere.

This entire debacle highlights a fundamental misunderstanding or perhaps deliberate ignorance of how economic governance operates in Kenya. The MPs’ outrage seems misplaced, especially when one considers the fact that economic wisdom has increasingly become the preserve of a select group of experts based at the State House.

These are the individuals who whisper into the President’s ear, advising him on everything, from revenue collection strategies to which sectors should receive funding. If there is a disconnect between the budget allocations approved by Parliament and the funds actually released, it is because those decisions have been overridden or altered by those with the President’s ear.

Moreover, their lamentations over the Treasury’s failure to fund critical projects reveal a deeper irony. It is well-known that the flow of money in government is not merely a matter of arithmetic but also of politics.

The Sh218.5 billion shortfall that the Treasury officials are being grilled over is not simply a result of poor planning or inefficiency. It reflects the broader economic reality of a country that is struggling with a ballooning public debt, shrinking revenue bases, and an overreliance on external borrowing. The Treasury, constrained by these realities, must make tough choices about which projects to fund and which to delay or abandon.

It is also no secret that these decisions are influenced by political considerations. Projects that enjoy the backing of State House are more likely to receive funding, regardless of their economic merit. In contrast, those without such blessings are often left to wither on the vine, even if they are crucial for sectors like industrialisation, agriculture, and MSMEs that are essential for the country’s long-term economic growth. This is why MPs like James Gakuya, who chairs the National Assembly’s Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, are right to be concerned about the underfunding of critical areas like the coffee sector and County Aggregation Industrial Parks. However, their anger should be directed at the architects of these decisions, not the implementers.

The notion that Treasury officials are deliberately undermining industrialisation or other key sectors by withholding funds is a convenient but flawed narrative. The truth is more complex and, unfortunately, more politically sensitive. The Treasury is tasked with managing the country’s finances within the constraints set by revenue collections, debt obligations, and the President’s priorities. When those priorities do not align with Parliament’s, it is the former that prevails.

MPs’ questioning of Treasury officials over the shortfall probably serves as a distraction from the real issue: centralising economic decision-making at State House and prioritising politically expedient projects over those that would genuinely spur economic growth.

If MPs are serious about addressing these challenges, they should stop chasing small fish and instead focus on holding those at the top accountable.

— The writer is People Daily’s Business Editor