Kenya set to unveil 26 bln USD budget for 2017/18

Kenya will on Thursday unveil a 26 billion U.S. dollar budget for the 2017/2018 financial year, with key spending focusing on infrastructure, security and energy.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said 17 billion dollars of the budget will come from tax collections, and the remaining 9 billion dollars will be plugged through loans and grants from development partners or local borrowing.

The government has said that it will not be burdening Kenyans with further taxes from what they are currently paying.

Experts have said the government must cut unnecessary expenditure, given the widening budget deficit, and champion inclusive growth in what is expected to be a populist stance in an election year.

Principal Secretary in the National Treasury Kamau Thuge said last week that budget will outline measures how the government will raise an additional 3 billion dollars from taxes in the next financial year. The current budget for the 2016/2017 financial year, which ends in June, was 23 billion dollars.

Proposed budget estimates for the 2017/2018 financial year indicate that the National Treasury will allocate 9.4 billion dollars for recurrent expenditure, up from 8.5 billion dollars in current financial year.

Public sector teachers will be allocated 2 billion dollars while infrastructure will get 1.8 billion dollars.

The Defence operations, National Police Service and the Standard Gauge Railway will receive 1 billion dollars, 900 million dollars and 760 million dollars respectively.

Rotich will read the budget in parliament more than two months earlier than usual as the country prepares for the general elections in August.

The Kenyan government has officially notified other member states of the East Africa Community (EAC) of the change of date for the presentation of the budget proposals.

The government said it was taking these measures to ensure the country's operations are not hampered when Kenyans go for elections.

EAC member countries have had a tradition of presenting their budgets simultaneously in June.

The EAC member states agreed in 2007 to have a common budget reading day as part of efforts towards harmonizing their taxation regimes in line with the ongoing regional integration process.

The regional bloc noted that if the budgets are not read at the same time, there is the risk of policy leaks and unfair business practices creeping in.

Kenyan parliamentarians will break for party nominations in April, and resume work in May. The parliament will be dissolved in June, in accordance with the Election Act, which provides for 60 days before the election date.

Lack of quorum in parliament would make it impossible to approve key financial legislations such as the Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill.

The budget presentation comes as millions of Kenyans have expressed concern over the rising cost of living.

Inflation, at 9.04 percent in February, is expected to be even higher in March. Foodstuff and fuel prices have gone up markedly in recent months.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has already ordered removal of levies charged by environmental and construction regulators, and other unpopular taxes could be cut while expanding social programs that uplift the poor.

The budget will also be Kenyatta's last budget in his current term in office. Endit