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Rotich seeks MPs' approval for additional spending on polls

rotich

National Treasury secretary Henry Rotich. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Treasury secretary Henry Rotich has sought MPS’s approval to spend additional cash on next month’s repeat poll.

The CS tabled in Parliament a supplementary budget that allocates Sh9.9 billion to IEBC, the electoral body, for the October 26 fresh presidential elections.

The Interior ministry has been allotted additional an Sh4.6 billion to bolster security ahead and during the polls.

Mr Rotich is also seeking approval to spend Sh24.7 billion on free day secondary education expected to be rolled out from January.

READ: Shilling stable, all eyes on repeat poll

Pay for elderly

In addition, the CS has sought Sh6 billion for monthly pay and medical cover for all the elderly aged 70 years and above.

Overall, Treasury’s adjusted allocations will result in an increase of recurrent expenditure by Sh52.9 billion and a reduction of development spending by Sh30.6 billion.

“The overall cumulative changes under the Supplementary Estimates amount to Sh22.3 billion or 0.8 per cent of the original Budget,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said in a summary of the mini-budget tabled in the National Assembly Wednesday morning.

Mr Rotich said the mini-budget had become necessary because “we have faced a number of challenges with huge financial implications.”

READ: Slow business day in anti-IEBC protests

Revenue collection

He listed these as: prolonged drought, insecurity, implementation of agreed Collective Bargaining Agreements, the repeat of the presidential election and shortfalls in revenue collection because of a bad business environment.

“Given that the economy has not generated new resources to finance the emerging needs, we are proposing to reorganise planned expenditure for the 2017/18 financial year in line with the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act,” he said in the document given to MPs.

Apart from the proposed funding for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for the election, the security sector is also a major beneficiary.

Besides the Interior ministry's Sh4.62 billion allocation, the National Intelligence Service is getting Sh3.15 billion and the Kenya Defence Forces Sh1.8 billion.