Treasury official accuses ministries of preparing unrealistic budgets

The Treasury has accused ministries of getting their priorities wrong and turning to Parliament to seek revision of the national Budget. FILE 

By EDWIN MUTAI
 

 

In Summary

• Budget officer Micah Mariga said ministries were allocated money based on their priorities and expenditure parameters set by the Treasury

The Treasury has accused ministries of getting their priorities wrong and turning to Parliament to seek revision of the national Budget.

Budget officer Micah Mariga said ministries were allocated money based on their priorities and expenditure parameters set by the Treasury.

“Ministries are supposed to prioritise their budget items and if they don’t do that then it is difficult to accommodate new demands or priorities unless they do a trade off. They can tell us which items they want to give in or reprioritise,” said Mr Mariga.

He said that often ministries’ budgets are wish-lists that cannot be met by available funding.

“We prioritise finishing ongoing projects rather than funding new ones. It is up to ministries to get their priorities right,” he said.

Environment and Natural Resources Parliament committee chairperson Amina Abdalla had summoned Treasury officials to explain why funding for completion of projects under regional development authorities was inadequate.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment Judy Wakhungu had told the committee that money for completion of dams had been slashed from Sh6.6 billion this year to Sh4.6 billion in the next financial year.

Ms Abdalla said that Sh1 billion was not provided for in the National Environment Management budget, Sh2 billion for waste management, Sh1 billion for mapping of underground water, Sh2 billion for a water storage facility and Sh1.4 billion for Kenya Wildlife Service activities.

Mr Mariga said donors had by April committed Sh12 billion to fund ministries’ activities through loans and grants.