President Ruto assents to Supplementary Appropriation, Division of Revenue bills

Source: Capital FM Kenya
Author: Irene Mwangi

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 10 - President William Ruto has signed into law the Supplementary Appropriation Bill to release funds for government expenditure for the financial year that is ending June 30.

The law mandates the National Treasury to authorize the issuance of Sh 102,305,909,030 out of the Consolidated Fund and apply it towards various government departments.

The Bill is intended to regularize Sh23.67 billion in expenditures under Article 223 of the Constitution, including those granted for emergency interventions.

The overall budget has been reduced by 3.3 percent (Sh132.46 billion) from Sh3,981.53 billion that was approved in the supplementary one estimates of 2023/24 FY to Sh3,848.07 billion.

Recurrent expenditure has increased on the recurrent budget by Sh51.12 billion which negates efforts by President Ruto's administration to reduce huge wage bill.

Development spending has been redirected to priority areas and reduced by Sh75.29 billion, primarily due to the rationalization of donor-funded programs.

Consequently, the Bill has reduced the supply by Sh32,596,382,875 to various votes.

"The proposed reduction in overall expenditures encompasses both a reduction in ministerial national government expenditures and Consolidated Fund Services (CFS) expenditures,"

According to the Supplementary Budget II 2023/24 great focus was put on the heavy El Nino rains experienced in the past three months.

The State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Areas and Regional Development for humanitarian will receive Sh4.3 billion to support those affected by floods.

The Department of Internal Security will receive Sh3 billion for El Nino disaster management.

The Ministry of Roads and Transport will receive Sh1 billion for emergency rehabilitation of roads affected by the floods.

Other approved additional expenditures designed to address El Niño flood responses include Sh 5.3 billion for emergency relief assistance.

In the Ministry of Education, University Education has been allocated Sh4.4 billion while Secondary Education has been allocated Sh1.1 billion.

The Ministry of Agriculture will receive Sh3 billion for the fertilizer subsidy programme and Sh1.1 billion for mopping up excess milk through the New KCC.

The Kenya Revenue Authority will receive Sh4.0 billion to boost revenue collection efforts and Sh7.4 for pending bills.