Money Markets
Treasury secretary Henry Rotich. PHOTO | FILE
By REUTERS
In Summary
- Finance Minister Henry Rotich said that the supplementary figures sent to parliament had increased spending in some areas, such as security, but these were outweighed by cuts elsewhere.
- "We are increasing spending in some areas and cutting in others but, overall, cuts are more than increases, so we have a net cut of around 50 billion (shillings)," he said.
Kenya's Treasury has sent parliament supplementary
spending plans for the fiscal year ending in June that introduce net
cuts of about Sh50 billion ($493 million), the finance minister said on
Thursday.
The government had forecast a budget deficit of 8.7 percent
of gross domestic product for 2015/16, which unnerved investors. Draft
figures released in February showed a revised 2015/16 deficit of 8.1 per
cent, falling to 6.9 per cent in 2016/17.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said in a
short telephone interview that the supplementary figures sent to
parliament had increased spending in some areas, such as security, but
these were outweighed by cuts elsewhere.
"We are increasing spending in some areas and
cutting in others but, overall, cuts are more than increases, so we have
a net cut of around Sh50 billion," he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's political coalition dominates parliament and is expected to back the revised numbers.
When the 2015/16 budget was announced last year,
expenditure including interest payments was forecast at a little over
Sh2 trillion. The International Monetary Fund has urged the government
to narrow the deficit.
Mr Rotich said last month that the government would
cut net domestic borrowing for 2015/16 by a quarter to Sh168.2 billion
as a result of spending cuts prompted by sluggish revenue collection.
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