President William Ruto’s Ksh3.6 trillion budget for the financial year 2023/2024 projects increased funding in key sectors, including education and health.
The budget, set to be presented in Parliament on Thursday, June 15, by Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Njuguna Ndung’u, will be Ruto's first since his September 2022 inauguration.
In the budget, the Education Ministry is among the largest beneficiaries expected to receive extra funding for Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs), the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and the school feeding program.
HELB, allocated Ksh11 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year, will receive over double the amount, totalling Ksh30 billion.
JSSs will receive Ksh28 billion from Ksh9 billion, while TVETs will receive Ksh28 billion, a Ksh5 billion increase from the 2022/2023 financial year.
To boost school feeding programs in drought-hit regions, the government allocated Ksh4.9 billion from KSh3.9 billion in the last financial year.
The Ministry of Health will receive Ksh19 billion more than the Ksh122 billion allocated in former President Uhuru Kenyatta's last budget.
President William Ruto also kept his promise and commitment to complete transport infrastructural projects Uhuru initiated.
As such, the government will pump in Ksh250 billion on existing road projects.
In Agriculture, Rural and Urban Development, the President injected much-needed funding into, the blue economy, livestock, mining, affordable housing and Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) markets.
Fertiliser allocation was reduced from Ksh13 billion to Ksh4 billion.
In investment promotion, the government will build six Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) at Ksh4.3 billion.
The Kenya Kwanza government will further invest Ksh9 billion in County Integrated Industrial Parks.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which got Ksh46 billion in the last financial year, will now receive Ksh13 billion for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Alice Wahome-led Water Ministry will receive Ksh61,487 for water and sanitation, up from Ksh60 billion.
Lastly, the 2023/2024 budget will inject Ksh2 billion into the Public Service Internship Programme, up from Ksh790 million.
Ruto's first budget of Ksh3.6 trillion is Ksh1.2 trillion more than the budget presented by Uhuru's government in June 2022. It should be noted though that the Ksh2.4 trillion budget read on June 2022 rose significantly to Ksh3.3 trillion by the end of the 2022/2023 financial year.
