๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐ข ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ
Leader of the Majority Party, Hon. Kimani Ichungโwah, has urged the National Treasury to limit Supplementary Budgets to one per financial year.
According to Hon. Ichungโwah, the National Treasury should adhere to the limits set in the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and revise the annual estimates only once.
He pointed out that revising the budget twice or thrice a year is not a good practice as it reflects poorly on our level of preparedness when creating budgets.
โThis approach creates uncertainty for implementing agencies regarding whether they will have adequate resources to carry out all the programs budgeted for within a financial year, as they cannot be sure if the allocated funds are subject to review,โ he said.
Hon. Ichungโwah was speaking on the Floor of the House on Thursday, June 6, 2024 during debate on the Budget Estimates for the financial year 2024/2025.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in raising revenues, Hon. Ichungโwah emphasized that it is crucial for the National Treasury and planners to act prudently, ensuring that projected revenues are as realistic and accurate as possible.
โWe must also urge the KRA to improve their efforts to ensure we collect sufficient revenues and avoid frequent revisions of our budgets through supplementary budgets,โ he asserted.
In addition, Hon. Ichungโwah criticized accounting officers and heads of parastatals for hiding their Appropriations-in-Aid (A-in-A) and rushing to procure goods and services in the final month of the financial year.
โFrom experience, particularly those who have served in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Investments Committee (PIC), you will notice that most issues of corruption in Government arise towards the end of a financial year or in the run-up to a General Election,โ he said.
The Leader of the Majority Party, however, noted that the centralized collection of A-in-A via the E-Citizen platform has significantly improved Government accountability.
โI encourage the Government and the National Treasury to ensure seamless engagement between the National Treasury and all our MDAs. This will ensure transactions have seamless connectivity from the MDAs to the National Treasury, ensuring every coin raised by MDAs is accounted for,โ he asserted.