By John Kariuki
Parliament will allocate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ( IEBC) a shoestring budget of Sh17.5 billion to conduct the forthcoming general election.
Parliament has forced the IEBC to reconsider its estimates twice from the initial Sh41.4 billion it had requested down Sh17.5 billion.
In its revised budget, IEBC has excluded Sh5 billion for a presidential re-run and reduced earlier estimate for legal expenses and voter education.
The IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan is quoted as saying that the commission will be forced to make huge cuts in its expenses and make the Sh17.5 billion budget work.
He says that the IEBC will considerably reduce the number of polling stations. Other measures include signing up less temporary staff and hiring vehicles instead of purchasing new ones.
By making the huge cut of Sh23.9 billion in its estimates, a whopping 58 per cent reduction from its original budget, the IEBC demonstrates gargantuan creativity in managing with fewer resources.
And herein is a vital lesson in personal finance management. With the current high inflation, people should be creative in their saving schemes to cope with the high cost of living.
solid goals
According to Humphrey Thuita, a Personal financial banker with a local financial institution, the first step to saving is to have solid money goals and a stringent budget.
“Goals spell out the destination and a budget spells out the details of the journey,” he says.
He adds that a budget ensures that one keeps a steady sum aside regularly towards attaining these objectives. A budget is essential in a person’s life as it shows one about his or her income and spending.
