Yatani's budget has tried to address concerns of Kenyans, half-heartedly

Kenya's Finance Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani presents the Government Budget for the 2021/22 fiscal year inside the Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kenya June 10, 2021. [Reuters, Monicah Mwangi]

In jurisdictions with low levels of civic awareness or disengaged citizenry like ours, government budgets pass like an annual ritual. But in reality, government budgets have far-reaching implications for the welfare of all citizens.

Public budgets are the primary instruments through which the sovereign will of the people is transmuted into reality. They provide the mechanism to direct resources from private economic units (individuals and business) to the State for the provision of public services. Through the budgets, the powers and privileges of the three arms of government also get to be flexed and their harmonious co-existence tested.