Budget Breakdown: Do Kenyans Understand What is Contained in National Budget?

The national budget is out. Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury, Henry Rotich, presented to the nation a much anticipated national budget.

The 3.07 trillion budget did not come as a surprise to many but the new proposed taxes have left many mourning and few smiling.

Many Kenyans, however, seem not to grasp what is contained in the national budget, its importance and why the government takes some decisions.

Many Kenyans feel that this coming fiscal year budget does not favor them and that it has been designed to impose hefty taxes on them.

What are some breakdowns in this year’s budget?

According to CS Rotich, in the 2018/2019 financial year, the National Parliament will receive 36.8 billion shillings while the Judiciary is set to receive 17 billion shillings.

The police and prison officers’ insurance was allocated 6.5 billion shillings, primary health care given 2 billion shillings and lending for hoteliers given 380 million shillings.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has been allocated 2.9 billion shillings, the Directorate of Public Prosecution given 2.9 billion shillings and Assets Recovery Agency will have to contend with 161 million shillings.

The Financial Reporting Center will receive 587 million shillings, Konza City 8.9 billion shillings and 376.4 billion shillings given to the County Governments.

The Geothermal energy will get 12.7 billion shillings, 6.7 billion shillings for the last mile connectivity and 4.8 billion shillings allocated to the oil and gas export.

The roads have been given 115.9 billion shillings, SGR Phase 2 allocated 74.7 billion shillings, 2.7 billion shillings for the Mombasa Port and 9.2 billion shillings for the purchase of police vehicles. Nairobi River has been given 800 million shillings.

In overall, the national government is set to receive 1.667 trillion shillings, being the lion’s share of the 2018/2019 budget.

This year’s budget has a deficit of more than 600 billion shillings which the government will have to borrow either domestically or from other countries.

On Monday morning, the Barclays Bank of Kenya held a Budget Breakdown Forum that was aimed at demystifying the national budget and breaking it down for Kenyans to understand what it contains and whether it will be manageable or not.

What is your take on the national budget? Please share with us.