President William Ruto has ordered the National Treasury to reduce the budgetary allocation for his office, that of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
This change will take place for the financial year 2024/2025.
The initial budget for the President’s office was Ksh. 1.4 Billion. The new figure will be Ksh. 600 Million. That of the DP was Ksh 1.2 Billion. His new budget will have to amount to Ksh 300 Million. The total amount for the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary was Ksh. 300 Million. His new total will come to Ksh. 150 Million.
The money taken from these three budgets will be directed towards reforming the coffee sector, fighting illicit brew, fighting drug abuse and the 10 billion tree planting programme.
In addition, the President has directed other government institutions to cut down on their spending.
In an interview, the President said he is careful with his expenditure. This he said as he dismissed the claims that his private jet to the US cost over 200 Million.
“I am very careful about the resources that I spend. In fact, I have cut down on funding to my office. I have cut down on funding to different government agencies… I have reduced by 30 percent.”
In contrast, each Member of Parliament will receive an additional Ksh. 30 Million on top of what they already receive for the Constituency Development Fund. This will happen despite the President’s remarks that he will be cutting down in expenditure in government. The result of this is that it brings the amount to a total of Ksh. 5 Billion.
This raises big questions on where the priorities of Kenyan lawmakers lie. Yet the MPs defended themselves by saying the additional money will be used to rebuild schools destroyed by floods.
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