President William Ruto assented to the Supplementary Appropriations Bill on Monday after it was passed by the National Assembly on July 31, 2024.
Despite the fiscal constraints, the new law safeguards key critical expenditures, including about KSh20 billion to support farmers and enhance production and productivity.
To support education reforms, the Supplementary Appropriations Act has allocated Sh120.7billion, including confirmation of all Junior Secondary School teachers, and KSh31.3 billion to the Higher Education Loans Board.
Further, the Bill the President signed into law has allocated Sh16.2billion to funding health sector reforms and promoting Universal Health Coverage.
Salary increases for security officers have also been taken care of, with the new law setting aside Sh3.5billion for the enhancement of remuneration for officers serving in various agencies in line with the recommendations of the National Taskforce on Police Reforms.
Additionally, the new Act proposes a reduction in recurrent and development expenditure for the three arms of government, constitutional commissions and independent offices.
The total reduction for the national government stands at Sh145.7billion, consisting of Sh40billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh105billion in development expenditure.
Out of the Sh145.7billion, the budget for the Executive has been cut by Sh139.81billion, while Parliament has lost Sh3.7billion and the Judiciary Sh2.1billion.
Budgets for State House and the Office of the Deputy President were cut by Sh6billion, and National Treasury by Sh7billion.
Allocation to the Ministry of Health was reduced by Sh6.9billion, while the budget for Road and Transport by Sh17.3billion.