The attention of the country will Thursday afternoon shift to one man: National Treasury CS Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u.
Prof. Ndung’u is expected to present the first ever Kenya Kwanza budget since the administration took the reins of power after August 9, 2022.
The National Treasury CS is expected to deliver the Ksh. 3.6 trillion 2023/2024 Budget Statement whose proposals have elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans.
They are those who feel that the budget will inflict more pain on them at a time the cost of living is already unbearable.
This will be the first budget for the g Kenya Kwanza administration that has prioritized five pillars under the Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda.
The Ksh. 3.6 budget will be seeking to maintain a delicate balancing act between debt servicing and stabilizing the economy.
In the budget proposals, Ksh. 1.5 trillion has been earmarked for recurrent expenditure, Ksh. 718 billion for development while Ksh. 986 billion will go into servicing public debt.
Counties, which are already facing a cash crunch, will share out Ksh. 385 billion.
The education sector will get the lions share of Ksh. 604 billion to operationalize the Junior Secondary School in terms of capitation and hiring of teachers.
Other areas set to benefit largely are Infrastructure, ICT and energy sector.
The five priority areas under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda comprising agriculture, MSMEs, housing and settlement, healthcare as well as the digital superhighway and the creative industry are expected to get Ksh. 268 billion.
