Economy
Offices of President Ruto, Regathi Gashagwa and Musalia Mudavadi to receive an additional Sh3.4 billion
Friday, June 16, 2023
President William Ruto (R) with Vice President Regathi Gashagwa (L) and Prime Minister Musalia Modavadi (C) during the second day of the inaugural retreat of Cabinet and Chief Executives at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Laikipia County on January 6, 2023. Photo | Computers
The offices of President William Ruto, Vice President Regati Gachagwa and Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi are set to receive an additional MYS 3.4 billion in a new mini-budget.
In its second supplementary budget for 2022/23 covering spending in the fiscal year ending June 30, the Treasury proposed billions more for the three offices, even as development allocations fell by NIS 39 billion.
The Executive Office of the President will receive the lion’s share of the budget increases of Sh3.1 billion while provisions for the offices of the Vice President and Cabinet Secretary will rise by Sh166 million and Sh81.3 million respectively.
On the other hand, state departments and ministries, including the Treasury, Correctional Services, Infrastructure, National Assembly, Teachers Service Commission, Crop Development and Agricultural Research, are among the biggest losers in the mini-budget that comes days after the end of the fiscal budget. year.
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Additional appropriations for the Executive Office of the President will cover salaries for newly established offices and higher expenditures for operating and maintenance budgets.
“The net change of Sh2.6 billion under current spending is on account of additional funding to cover shortfalls in personal wages and operating and maintenance expenses for the new offices in line with Executive Order 1 of 2023,” the Treasury said.
“The net charge of Sh465m under capital expenditure is to facilitate the renovation of the buildings.”
State Council Affairs will benefit from the largest share of the newly earmarked funds, receiving 2.1 billion shillings from the overall budget adjustment.
The Office of the Chief of Staff and Chief of Public Service will receive an additional MYS 571.8 million to meet hospitality supplies and services, purchase of office furniture and fuel and lubricants costs.
Meanwhile, former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office is set to lose Sh20m, with notable budget cuts for routine maintenance of vehicles and other transport equipment and upkeep of other assets.
And the State House in Nairobi has set aside an additional Sh1.5 billion, the bulk of the money—Sh231 million—for hospitality supplies and services.
Domestic and foreign travel budgets are set to be Sh175m and Sh15m respectively, while the provision for staff base salaries has been increased to Sh26.3m.
The Government House Spokesperson’s Office is set to receive 49.3 million Malaysian shillings to cover basic salaries of permanent employees and personal allowances.
Meanwhile, the Office of the First Lady will receive an additional 295.7 million Malaysian shillings, the bulk of which will cover salaries and the balance between personal allowances, domestic travel and hospitality.
However, the Vice President’s spouse’s office would lose Sh31.9 million from its budget, with Sh10 million cut from domestic travel.
On the development side, the budget increase of Sh465 million covers additional expenditure on maintenance work at the State House Nairobi and general maintenance work at the State House Mombasa and Sagana and state lodges at Nakuru, Kakamega, Kisumu and Eldoret.
The increased appropriations for the offices of the Vice President and Cabinet Secretary cover increases in operating and maintenance budgets, including salaries, personal allowances and hospitality services.
After the first executive order of 2023, the Office of the President now has 13 major offices, including Finance and Budget Policy, Economic Transformation, Women’s Rights Adviser, and Climate Change Council Adviser.
Recently set up offices have had the effect of ballooning government spending on wages and salaries, with the national government footing the wage bill in the first nine months of the current financial year by about Sh16.6 billion.
Numerous appointments by the new administration in other areas of the public sector also greatly affected the government’s wage bill.
For example, government departments have been increased to 51 from the previous 44 ministries while 50 chief administrative secretaries have been appointed.
The wage bill explosion in the nine-month period came amid delays in the payment of public servants’ salaries, with the government acknowledging liquidity challenges.
The bloated wage bill has raised concerns about the weakness of the new administration, which initially pledged budget cuts in pursuit of fiscal consolidation.
The government, for example, has targeted budget cuts of Sh300 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1.
The new 2023/24 budget of Sh3.68 trillion follows adjustments to the one originally approved at Sh3.359 trillion.
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Despite the difficulty of rationalizing the budget, the government sought to reaffirm that it is still on the path of consolidating public finances, which will be based on the expectation of increasing revenue mobilization in the next budget cycle.
The government’s fiscal policy for the fiscal year 2023/24 and the medium-term budget aim to implement a growth-friendly fiscal consolidation plan to ensure debt sustainability. This will be achieved by improving revenue collection, primarily through broadening the tax base, and containing aggregate expenditures,” Treasury Minister Nguguna Ndongo told MPs on Thursday.
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