The National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani is set to read the 2022/2023 budget today, April 7, 2022.
The presentation of the budget before the National Assembly at 3.00 pm will be the last for President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime, which will come to an end after the August 9 elections.
The national budget reading is an annual government activity used to communicate economic policies and budget allocations to be followed for the next financial year.
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This edition's budget will be read unusually two months before the start of the next financial year (2022/2023). This is attributed to the Parliament's term coming to an end two months before the August polls, on June 9, 2022, to be specific.
As a result, the House is required to clear all important businesses before the term expires. However, this does not mean that Parliament will be dissolved, since the MPs will remain in their respective seats until the eve of the General Elections, on August 8, 2022.
Before the budget is read to the nation, the public is given timelines to give their contributions and ideas on policy and tax measures, which in this year's case ended in March 2022.
Ordinarily, and according to the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, the budget is first committed to the Departmental Committees to review the budget in line with their respective mandates. These Committees are given 21 days to review and prepare reports with consultations with relevant government departments under their purview.
The Departmental Committees' recommendations are then considered by the Budget and Appropriations Committee, which through consultations and interactions with the National Treasury, prepares and tables a report with recommendations on the budget. The Committee may propose reductions or increases of expenditure, particularly at the program or departmental level often without causing the need for additional resources.
After the budget is read to the public, the Parliament is given time to approve or reject the estimates of revenue and expenditure, which will form part of the Appropriation Bill. The Appropriation Bill should be approved within 90 days before it is assented by the President.
Yatani's speech will be based on the Finance Bill, which contains the policy and tax measures. The Finance Bill must be tabled in Parliament before April 30, 2022, to give MPs time to debate and pass it before their term expires.
The Parliament also must approve the Division of Revenue Bill before the budget is read, something that threatened to cripple today's event. The Senate had refused to approve the Division of Revenue Bill passed by the National Assembly before a joint committee reached an agreement last week.
Under the Division of Revenue Bill, 2022, the National Government will get Ksh1.76 trillion, counties Ksh370 billion while Ksh7 billion will be allocated for the Equalisation Fund.
The 2022/2023 budget will hit a high of Ksh3.31 trillion, with a big chunk going to debt repayment, estimated at Ksh1.36 trillion up from Ksh1.27 trillion.
Repayments of foreign debts will soar by 34.11 per cent to Ksh440.06 billion, while repayments of domestic debts will go up by 11.65 per cent to Ksh919.06 billion.
