Deputy President William Ruto has asserted that the government will not allow Cabinet Secretaries to present unnecessary supplementary budgets from their respective ministerial departments to Parliament in the 2018/19 financial year.
Ruto directed the Cabinet Secretaries to prepare their budgets sufficiently according to the available resources to avoid demanding additional funds once the government has rolled out its development projects.
"We don't expect any member of the executive to introduce unnecessary expenditure once the expenditure once the budget is presented and approved by parliament," stated Ruto.
"We do not want unnecessary conflict between the executive and the legislature over budgetary issues," he added.
[caption caption="DP William Ruto and Treasury CS Henry Rotich"][/caption]
Speaking on Wednesday at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) during the opening of public hearings for the 2018/19 Financial Year Medium-Term budget, the DP urged all government institutions to align their budgets with the Jubilee Big Four agenda.
A supplementary budget is a request to Parliament for additional spending of public funds after the budget has been passed.
Article 223 on the supplementary appropriation highlights that the government may spend money that has not been approved by Parliament if the amount already authorised is insufficient or if the money comes from the contingency fund.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich noted that the government will reduce expenditure on non-core activities in order to fund key priority areas.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy are yet to announce the complete list of their cabinet appointees.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto"][/caption]
However, the Head of State unveiled a part of the newly appointed Cabinet Secretaries three-weeks ago, retaining six from his previous team.