Parliament has approved a Ksh.4.006 trillion budget, the highest ever in Kenya’s history.
The National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Ndindi Nyoro on Thursday said the figure was a climb down from the initial budget policy statement.
In the 2024-2025 approved budget, the Office of the President will receive Ksh.5.1 billion while the Deputy President’s office has been allocated Ksh.4.8 billion.
State House has also been allocated Ksh.9.5 billion, with Ksh.275 million likewise approved for the Cabinet Affairs Office.
Apart from the Foreign Affairs docket allocation, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s Railways-based office has been allocated an additional Ksh.1.1 billion.
The Senate has been allocated Ksh.8 billion, while Parliament’s Support Services, Parliamentary Liaison and Legislation have also been factored in the budget.
After submissions and counter submissions from the Ministry of Education, Parliament has settled on Ksh.142 billion for Basic Education that will include primary and secondary education, Ksh.127 billion for university education, and Ksh.30 billion for technical and vocational training colleges.
Ksh.102 billion has been allocated to medical services and will cater for curative and preventive programmes. Public health, on the other hand, has been allocated Ksh.28 billion.
The energy sector has been allocated Ksh.69 billion, majority of which will be utilised under the transmission and distribution of power as part of the Last Mile connectivity programme.
The Department of Roads, the National Police Service (NPS) and the Ministry of Defence have all been allocated over Ksh.100 billion in this year’s budget.
In the fight against graft, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has been allocated Ksh.4 billion down from Ksh.6.3 billion requested. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has been allocated a similar amount.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been allocated Ksh.3.7 billion to use Ksh.2.7 billion to clear pending bills on legal fees.
Treasury managed to get an additional Ksh.2 billion from its previous allocation.
Treasury CS Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u is scheduled to deliver the budget address on Thursday next week similar to his colleagues in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
