Why Controller of Budget blocked William Ruto's Sh6b request

The Controller of Budget is Margaret Nyakang'o during the Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) gala dinner and award Ceremony at a Nairobi hotel on 30 August 30, 2024. [FILE/Standard]

Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o denied President William Ruto’s administration an additional Sh6.6 billion in funding for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Ministries and State Departments had sought Sh48.8 billion under Article 223 of the Constitution, but Nyakang’o only approved the withdrawal of Sh42.2 billion from the Consolidated Fund.

The initially sought amount comprised of Sh30,844,847,055 in recurrent expenditure and Sh18,041,378,992 for Development expenditure, which had been proposed by the National Treasury.

However, the CoB only approved Sh29.42 billion in recurrent expenditure and Sh12.8 billion in development expenditure.

According to a report by the Controller of Budget covering the first nine months of the 2024/2025 financial year, the funds were requested under Article 223 of the Constitution. This provision allows the government to withdraw funds not initially budgeted for, provided they are later regularized through a supplementary budget.

The requested funds were meant to support various programs, including multi-agency security operations, local presidential visits, fuel and vehicle maintenance at State House, and even to facilitate campaigns for ODM leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship, among other activities.

“During the first nine months of FY 2024/2025, the Controller of Budget authorized a total of Sh42.22 billion under Article 223 of the Constitution. All the affected additional fundings were regularized in Supplementary II budget estimates as required by Article 223 (2) of the Constitution except for Sh Sh1.24 billion disbursed by the World bank and spent by the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs under Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project,” reads the report in part.

The State Department for University Education had requested Sh1.5 billion for the Moi University Strategic Intervention but was allocated only Sh1 billion, disbursed on various dates.

Similarly, the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications had received Treasury approval for Sh627.6 million to settle pending bills under the Government Advertising Agency (GAA), but was granted Sh354 million instead.