MPs fault Treasury's last-minute quest for additional funding

Treasury CS Henry Rotich

MPs Wednesday tore into the National Treasury’s latest budgetary proposals after the Cabinet Secretary sought additional spending for a second time.

The Cabinet Secretary sought their approval to incur an additional Sh17 billion days before the end of the financial year.

The amount had already been spent but National Treasury CS Henry Rotich was only seeking the consent of the legislators with the financial year ending today.

Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman Mutava Musyimi registered his displeasure with Treasury’s last-minute rush, saying the Government should present only one supplementary budget in a year.

His committee recommended that no supplementary budget should be brought to the National Assembly after May 1.

“To ensure continuity in the budgeting process, the Committee recommends that the National Treasury should present only one supplementary budget to be submitted at least two months before the end of the financial year,” Musyimi said in his report. He cited that the second supplementary budget was tabled by Rotich less than two weeks before the end of the financial year.

In the first supplementary budget, the CS sought to increase the spending above the printed estimates approved in June last year.

“This may lead to over-commitment of funds, which will not have been spent by the time the year lapses.”

There were concerns over the extra funds, largely due to the limited time available for scrutiny by the National Assembly.

Supplementary budgets are typically presented in the course of a financial year, seeking changes in the national budget prepared and approved before the start of the budgetary period.

Members of the budget committee also sought to know from the Treasury whether it was possible for the State to spend the newly allocated billions within seven days.

Majority leader Adan Duale told his colleagues the funds Rotich was seeking consent to use had actually been spent and that the request was a formality.

“The purpose of the supplementary budget was to regularise expenditures that have already been spent,” Duale said.

Chris Wamalwa said a supplementary budget should not be a surprise but rather be foreseen by the officials at the Treasury.

Among the major changes contained in the supplementary budget is the reallocation of the funds initially set aside to support refugees, and a Sh1.5 billion in cuts on the money allocated to the Teachers Service Commission.

The Energy ministry got an additional Sh7.3 billion for power generation and electricity transmission. Musyimi’s team however rejected Treasury’s request to move over Sh4.5 billion from the Agriculture ministry to the State Department of Water and Irrigation.