Kenya receives Sh4.2b to fund war against al Shabaab

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich. Kenya has received Sh4.2 billion from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) to support the war against al Shabaab. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Kenya has received Sh4.2 billion from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) to support the war against al Shabaab.

The latest statement of actual revenues published by Treasury in the Kenya Gazette on Friday shows the country was expecting Sh6.4 billion in the current financial year, which ends next month. But it had received Sh4.2 billion, which is Sh2.2billion less by April 29.

The war in Somalia has seen Kenya increase its spending on security in the last three years in a bid to secure its borders against the militant group. But the exercise has gone on longer than it had initially been planned and this has come with huge economic implication.

Security Budget

AMISOM is a peace-keeping mission operated by the African Union in Somalia. It has been providing grants to support Kenya’s security budget.
According to the Treasury statement, the country was running behind its revenue projections by Sh400 billion as at April 29 this year. The statement shows that the country had so far received Sh1.4 trillion revenue against a target of Sh1.8 trillion, two months to the end of the financial year.

The revenue statement shows the country had received a total of Sh888 billion in tax revenue by end of April against a target of Sh1.2 trillion. The big gap forced the country to borrow at a faster rate than had been anticipated to fill the deficit. The country had almost exhausted its borrowing targets from the domestic market. The net domestic borrowing stood at Sh377 billion, against a target of Sh397 billion. This is just Sh20 billion less than the target.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich recjons that the Government raised Sh74 billion as a commercial loan, this was Sh3 billion more than what had been budgeted for. Treasury had budgeted to raise Sh71billion.

The Government also received Sh20 billion as loans from foreign governments and international organisation. This was slightly more than half of the Sh37 billion it is hoped to receive by the end of June.

The other grant so far received by Government to support its current budget includes Sh518 million extended by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The development agency is expected to give the country a total of Sh844 million by end of year.
Almost two-thirds of the money collected was spent on recurrent expenditure. A total of Sh563 billion went to pay salaries and other Government running costs. Another Sh351billion was used to pay debts.

The country has a Sh397 billion public debt bill for the current year. The State department of Infrastructure was one of the biggest recipients of development budget, after it was given Sh39 billion. It was followed by Planning department, which had received Sh34 billion and the ministry of energy and petroleum, which received Sh23 billion.