Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich: Ombudsman got it wrong on spending circular

The Ombudsman misinterpreted a circular on budget cuts, the National Treasury has said. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich denied reports he had cut funding to various Government departments in the current fiscal year through a circular.

The Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman), which had termed the circular illegal, had accused Treasury of breaking of the law and wanted it reversed.

But in a rejoinder, Rotich said the circular was only ‘a cautious execution of the budget’ in a bid to ensure that Government lives within its means. “I think the Ombudsman got it completely wrong. He interpreted the circular upside down. The spirit of the circular was that we did not want to face finance challenges in meeting all expenditure that has already been approved by Parliament,” Rotich said on Tuesday.

He refuted claims by the Ombudsman that the Government was diverting some funds meant for some agencies for some unexplained reasons.

“Yes we are planning to monitor and plan our budget in a way that we live within our means. We want to make sure the resources that we raise are consistent with the budget that we want to execute. It has nothing to do with diverting funds but it is just a cautious execution of the budget,” he said.

Last week, the Ombudsman accused the Government of secretly plotting to divert money from ministries and State departments for unknown purposes. The Commission’s chairman, Dr Otiende Amollo, wrote to Rotich, saying the Government had already hived off some money in the first quarter of this financial year whose whereabouts remain unknown.

In the letter, Mr Amollo said the Treasury hatched a conspiracy against the budget passed by Parliament by sending ministries a circular ordering them to cut spending.

The cuts were immediately effected, denying some State organs crucial funds to carry out their functions while diverting money from the strict Government spending protocols, which will make it difficult for Parliament to provide oversight.