By Mercy Imali
The Budget and Appropriations Committee has approved the 2019-2020 estimates. The compromise deal was reached at on Tuesday after Treasury held crucial talks with the Committee on Tuesday.
In the end, Rotich walked away with KSH 78 billion more than what was contained in the Budget Policy Statement
This is a huge win for Treasury CS Henry Rotich, who has set June 13th as the day he will formally unveil the budget.
The balancing of figures deal involved allocations and reallocations with painful adjustments that saw some ministries and departments sacrificed.
According to the estimates approved by the committee, the total budget for Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary is estimated at Sh3.02 trillion. This represents a 4.2 per cent reduction from last year’s budget..
This was accommodated by upward revenue projection of KSH35 billion, bringing the total projected revenue to KSH 2.1 trillion.
The committee’s report is due in the National Assembly for concurrence from the 349-member House this afternoon. Setting the stage for Rotich to formally unveil the national budget for the next financial year next Thursday.
In its report, the committee says the drastic budget adjustments made were necessary by the country’s dark economic prospects. It adds that erratic weather conditions are likely to take a toll on the country with poor performance in agriculture.
The economic situation is likely be worsened by the delayed completion of infrastructure projects that would have spurred economic growth, the committee warns.