Treasury building. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- The funds will pay for public goods and services before MPs can approve the 2018/19 budget.
- The money is in addition to Sh398.5 billion which is expected to be generated internally by the government agencies and departments.
- Move by Uhuru is necessary to avoid counties and national government shutdown when the next financial year begins on July
The National Treasury is free to start disbursing cash to
government departments and agencies from Monday after President Uhuru
Kenyatta signed into law the Appropriation Bill 2018.
The
Bill signed today clears Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to
draw up to Sh1.4 trillion from the Consolidated Fund to pay for public
goods and services before the MPs can approve the 2018/19 budget.
The
money is in addition to Sh398.5 billion which is expected to be
generated internally by the government agencies and departments,
technically called Appropriation in Aid (AIA).
The move
by Mr Kenyatta is permitted under the law. It is necessary to avoid
counties and national government shutdown when the next financial year
begins on July 1 as the MPs are yet to begin debating the 2018/19
spending plan.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Senate Speaker Ken
Lusaka and Treasury CS Henry Rotich attended the signing ceremony at
Statehouse Nairobi.
Budget
The
Sh3.072 trillion budget includes a deficit of Sh562.75 billion. It
allocates Sh1.6 trillion to the national government for the whole year,
Sh14.8 billion to the Judiciary and Sh36.8 billion to Parliament. The 47
counties have a total allocation of Sh372.74 billion.
The
2018/2019 budget, the first to be prepared and approved in Mr
Kenyatta’s second term, is geared towards achievements of the four
pillars of growth namely manufacturing, food security, health coverage
and affordable housing.
Eyes are on Parliament as it
begins to debate the budget which has proposed reclassification of a
number of foodstuffs, medicaments and farm inputs from zero Value Added
Tax (VAT) to exemption status, setting up households for hard times.
Services
such as transfer of a business as a going concern by a registered
person to another registered person and supply of natural water –
excluding bottled water – are also set to become expensive if MPs do not
change the budget proposals.
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