Mbadi says Finance Bill 2024 protests led to more inclusive 2025 budget planning process
By Cy Muganda, May 24, 2025Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has attributed the calmer political and public atmosphere surrounding this year’s budget process to lessons learned from last year’s widespread protests over the Finance Bill 2024.
In an interview on a local media station on May 23, 2025, ahead of the 2025 budget statement presentation, Mbadi acknowledged that the government was forced to reflect and make significant changes to how it engages citizens in the budget-making process after last year’s backlash.
“Last year’s events were a learning point for us all. Those of us who joined the government after that had to look for ways of doing things differently,” Mbadi said.
He noted that one of the key concerns raised during the 2024 protests was the lack of public involvement, transparency, and openness in how the budget and the Finance Bill were developed.
“One of the concerns of the public when they were agitating was that there was not much involvement; there was no openness and transparency in the budget process and the generation of the finance bill, which I think this year we have done differently,” Mbadi explained.
To prevent a repeat of the previous year’s unrest, he stated that the National Treasury had undertaken extensive public engagement efforts during the 2025/26 budget planning process.
“We were more involved from the word go. In fact, as early as last year, we started the process of budgeting, and we started involving people. We have done quite a bit of engagement apart from the sectoral meetings,” he noted.
Public participation
The Cabinet Secretary shared that he has led street-level forums with Bunge la Wananchi in Nairobi and Mombasa, along with direct public engagement sessions outside the Treasury headquarters.
“We have done some public engagements with the people in the streets. I’ve personally led by engaging Bunge la Wananchi in the streets of Nairobi. I went to Mombasa,” he explained, highlighting the government’s shift toward direct citizen engagement.
According to Mbadi, the consultation process also included meetings with youth groups, professional associations, and key industry players such as the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the petroleum sector, and banking stakeholders.
Notably, he hosted a town hall discussion at Daystar University and participated in radio talk shows to break down the contents of the Finance Bill and budget estimates.
“We also had a public engagement outside the Treasury building. We have also had meetings with the youth at the treasury. I have met with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. I’ve met with various stakeholders, professional bodies, the bankers, the oil sector, or the petroleum sector or industry,” he added.
Media engagement
Mbadi placed particular emphasis on youth engagement, highlighting meetings with what he referred to as “the real Gen Zs,” as well as media interviews with digital platforms.
“I have also engaged here together with my team in the digital media. I have managed to have an engagement with the youth, whom I will call the real Gen Zs. So we have had quite a bit of engagement,” he remarked.
According to the Treasury CS, media platforms—both mainstream and vernacular—were utilised to explain budget proposals and gather feedback.
This comprehensive outreach strategy, he says, has helped build public confidence and reduce tensions, resulting in a more inclusive and consultative budget planning process for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
“So a lot of engaging with the people and a lot of interaction and making public what we have provided in the finance bill and the budget estimates,” he stated.