Controller of budget blames Treasury for cash crunch

Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo at a past function. [File, Standard]

The Office of the Controller of Budget has blamed Treasury for dragging its feet in the disbursement of funds to State agencies, frustrating their operations.

In its national budget review for the financial year 2017/18, the oversight body also noted that the other challenges to the implementation of the budget included frequent downtime on the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

IFMIS, an automated system that is used for public financial management, has been at the heart of a number of scandals, including the National Youth Service scam in which billions of public funds have been pilfered.

Poor absorption

“In order to enhance budget implementation, it is recommended that the National Treasury should release funds to MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) in line with approved cash flow projections and procurement plans,” said Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo (pictured).

MDAs and county governments have in the past claimed that the main reason for their poor absorption of funds has been late disbursements.

County governments have since accumulated huge debts from commercial banks after funds from Treasury delayed.