The Controller of Budget has approved Sh549.6 million in spending under supplementary budgets for this financial year.
Of this amount, Sh250 million is earmarked for the improvement of dryers and bulk storage facilities by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) while Sh221.5 million is designated for East African Regional Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation project domiciled at the ICT ministry.
Sh78 million is designated for financing the Eastern Electricity Highway Project which is hosted by the Energy and Petroleum Ministry.
Data show Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungâu had as of September 13 approved supplementary expenses worth Sh15.8 billion of which Sh1.04 billion had been presented to the Office of the Controller of Budget for approval.
Article 228 of the Constitution gives the Controller of Budget responsibility of authorising withdrawals from the Equalisation Fund, the Consolidated Fund, and the County Revenue Funds.
âWe have two types of approvals under Article 223 which is about supplementary appropriation. Approvals for immediate release and spending as they are urgent and other supplementary approvals [that] will need a Supplementary Appropriation Bill to be approved,â Treasury Director of budget Francis Anyona said.
Appearing before the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee on September 20, Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang'o, called for better planning by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to address challenges that emerge through supplementary appropriation.
âIn the financial year 2022/23, the Controller of Budget authorised the release of Sh82.27 billion as additional funding," she told the parliamentary committee.
"This amount translates to 2.7 percent of the total MDA-approved budget of Sh3.62 trillion. It is evident that expenditures executed outside the approved budgets undermine the reliability of the approved budgets and, by extension, point to poor planning, which hinders the delivery of goods and services.â
