Chairpersons of key parliamentary committees have called for urgent revisions to the 2025/26 Budget Estimates to address funding shortfalls in vital sectors, citing potential risks to national development and service delivery if gaps remain unaddressed.
The appeals were made during a session of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Hon. Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga), which is currently receiving input from various departmental committee heads overseeing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Hon. John Kiarie (Dagoretti South), Chair of the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, expressed alarm over the exclusion of crucial state corporations from the proposed budget. He pointed out that no funding had been allocated to the Postal Corporation of Kenya and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), despite Cabinet approval of their urgent revitalization.
“These entities were identified as critical and in need of urgent interventions to regain commercial viability,” said Kiarie. “The complete omission of budgetary support will only deepen the pending bills crisis.”
Health Committee Chair Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal (Seme) underscored a pressing need to bridge the Kshs. 3.65 billion gap required to deploy 5,499 intern healthcare workers who have completed their balloting. The current allocation of Kshs. 4 billion, he said, falls short of the Kshs. 7.68 billion needed.
He recommended that the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors, and relevant healthcare unions develop a clear roadmap within 30 days after the budget’s adoption to convert Universal Health Coverage (UHC) contract workers into permanent and pensionable employees, and to provide gratuity at the end of their terms in May 2026.
Hon. (Dr.) John Mutunga (Tigania West), who chairs the Agriculture and Livestock Committee, raised concerns about the sector’s chronic underfunding. With only Kshs. 58 billion allocated against a requirement of Kshs. 103 billion, the ministry faces a Kshs. 45 billion shortfall.
“This allocation is insufficient for a sector that anchors six of the nine BETA priority value chains,” said Mutunga. “We need to strengthen agricultural transformation to achieve inclusive growth.”
In the land sector, Lands Committee Chair Hon. Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango) proposed an additional Kshs. 7.22 billion for the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning. The funding would go toward ICT infrastructure and land acquisition in Tana River, Garissa, and Mombasa.
Nyamoko also pushed for an additional Kshs. 441.32 million for the National Land Commission to facilitate compulsory land acquisition needed for the Nairobi Eastern and Southern bypass projects.
The Budget and Appropriations Committee is expected to consolidate these recommendations into its final report ahead of the National Assembly’s debate on the 2025/26 Appropriations Bill.
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