Serious divisions have emerged among Members of Parliament over the skewed distribution of projects by the Budget and Appropriation Committee.

MPs term the process as akin to the so-called “budgeted corruption” that rocked the 11th parliament prompting it to be disbanded.

The uneven distribution of national government projects has come to the fore in the 2023/2024 budget where members of the powerful committee which is chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro allocated projects to themselves and those MPs aligned to some powerful individuals in government. 

MPs have accused their colleagues in the Budget committee of working with the National Treasury to alter budget proposals in a bid to disfranchise some members.

Some members are now calling for the committee’s disbandment, decrying what they perceive as institutionalized corruption within the budgetary process.

Some ministries and state departments have also come under scrutiny for allegedly showing bias in the distribution of infrastructural projects.

Political affiliations

This bias, according to some committee members, appears to favor individuals based on their political affiliations or proximity to influential political and state figures.

Among the ministries implicated include that of Roads and Transport, Agriculture and Livestock Development, and Energy and Petroleum.

“I have not been allocated a single roads project while some of my colleagues, even some in the opposition, have been given even more than ten projects,” said Sirisia MP John Waluke.

Mount Elgon MP Fred Kapondi is also said to have missed out from the roads project.

Similar disparities are evident in the Ministries of Education, Health and SMEs and Cooperatives among others.

Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba, leading the dissent, on the floor of the House before members broke for recess urged his colleagues to exercise caution as they approach the budget-making process to prevent what he termed as “budgeted corruption.” “For a few days, I have been wondering what happened to the Ministry of Energy, only to realise that my constituency got only one electricity project. Contrastingly, other regions appear to have secured between 14 and 17 projects,” said Milemba.

Disproportionately favored

Emphasizing the need for equitable distribution of projects, Milemba stated; “We cannot afford a scenario where certain members are disproportionately favored, leaving others with minimal opportunities to effectively represent their constituents.”

For instance, Milemba said the Ministry of Energy should give an equal share of transformers to every Member of Parliament for their constituencies.

“Who will die because of this? Must you have too much while others have nothing? The same applies to roads. So, as we deal with the upcoming budget these are some of the things we should consider,” he held.

“I support what the President said, that there is budgeted corruption. We should handle this carefully and call to order those in charge of making the budget when it comes here. In terms of resources distribution, we need to know how much goes to each constituency,’ he added.

Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen, who chairs the Departmental Committee on Blue Economy and Irrigation, said as committees prepare for the budget making process, they should look at the proposed budget even as they engage ministries, oversight and work within ceilings.

“We should be allowed to move amendments on the Floor of the House, to agree or reject them. Sometimes, when you raise an amendment, you are told to first agree with the Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations, who might refuse and it is thrown away. I want all of us not to just sit here and say Aye or Nay. Yet, we do not know why we are saying so,” he added.

Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako claimed that some members tend to throw tantrums at their colleagues who sit in the Budget and Appropriations Committee without understanding the basics of how it works.

Amends or changes

“When chairpersons of committees appear before us, we try as much as possible not to amend or make changes to their proposals,” said Mwashako. Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah said when MPs complained about the conduct of the Budget and Appropriations Committee in the 11th Parliament, it ended up being disbanded.

“The Liaison Committee did their work for the rest of the term of that parliament,” said Ichung’wah. He asked the committee to engage in introspection on issues in terms of how to engage with the membership of the House and other committees to ensure that budgeted corruption does not find its way into the budget-making process within Parliament.

However, an adamant Mwashako, held that even as the House prepares to look into the alleged budgeted corruption, parliament must also try to avoid the skewedness o