The joint National Assembly and Senate sitting on March 27, 2014. The
National Assembly has approved Sh2.1 trillion expenditure for the next
financial year. FILE PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
The National Assembly has approved Sh2.1 trillion expenditure
for the next financial year. This paves the way for reading of the
Budget by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich on
Thursday, next week.
The MPs unanimously adopted the
budget estimates for the 2015/16 financial year on Wednesday evening
after passing the Division of Revenue Bill.
According
to the estimates on revenue and expenditures for the next financial year
presented by Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman Mutava
Musyimi (Mbeere South MP), Sh1.1 trillion will be withdrawn from the
consolidated fund, and Sh399 billion from development budgets.
A
total of Sh1.8 trillion was approved for financing the national
government, the Judiciary and Parliament in the next financial year.
The
budget committee also made several re-allocations and increased
allocations for government departments even as it slashed others to
satisfy the recommendations of parliamentary teams, which had protested
that their demands had not been met.
Approval of the
budget estimates paves the way for presentation of the 2015/16 spending
plan by Mr Rotich when Parliament resumes from recess next week. The
event will coincide with the presentation of national budgets in other
East Africa countries.
To raise the additional Sh3
billion that had been agreed by a Senate and National Assembly mediation
team, the Senate and the Judiciary were the biggest losers.
The
former lost Sh1 billion for oversight of affairs in the counties, while
the latter’s capital allocations were slashed by Sh800 million.
ELECTIONS
Among
those who benefited from increase in funding was the independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission, which received an additional Sh30
million for purchase of a system for mapping and collection of
geographic data for transmission of election results and logistics.
The
National Police Service Commission also received an additional Sh121
million, Sh5 million being for development of a scheme of service for
the officers, Sh71 million for recruitment and Sh45 million for vetting.
An
additional Sh15.4 million was also allocated to the office of the
controller of budget for salaries and Sh80 million to the Independent
Police Oversight Authority.
Other beneficiaries were
the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which received an
additional Sh178 million for witness and victims expenses, training of
new prosecutors and a medical insurance for them.
RIVATEX REVIVAL
Meanwhile,
Sh600 million was re-allocated from the Uwezo Fund to the Youth
Development Fund, the Women Enterprise Fund and the Anti Female Genital
Mutilation board respectively.
Sh500 million was also
re-allocated from the Export Processing Zones Authority under the
Ministry of Industrialisation for revival of Rivatex, a clothing company
in Eldoret.
Among departments whose budgets were
slashed is the Office of the President where Sh100 million for Cabinet
affairs programme, allocation for police housing project by Sh50 million
and Sh173 million meant for Huduma Centre, was also slashed.
A
whopping Sh1.5 billion was also taken away from the Kenya Wildlife
Service while Sh300 million meant for tourism recovery was cut.
Mr
Musyimi said the committee was careful not to burst the budget ceilings
in the Budget Policy Statements, which provides that changes to the
estimates should not be made unless it was absolutely necessary.
He
also said Parliament should speedily conclude deliberations on the
Equalisation Fund regulations in order to ensure counties begin
benefiting from the money.
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