A November 2023, report by the Office of the Controller of Budget (CoB) revealed that President William Ruto’s administration was spending over Ksh4 billion every month on subsidies.
Despite the President criticising the practice that was started by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, the government continued to offer subsidies to private and state-owned companies.
In the first three months of the Financial Year 2023/24, the government spent a significant sum of its recurrent expenditure towards the program.
“The total Subsidies reported by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) amounted to Kshs.14.69 billion, representing 4.6 per cent of the gross recurrent expenditure,” the report stated.
“This expenditure was entirely for subsidies to public corporations incurred by the State Department for Basic Education towards the board of governors of maintained schools (capitation).”
The report further indicated that an extra Ksh150 million was used by the State Department for Crop Development as subsidies to Financial Private Enterprises.
Under the State Department, the Ruto government initiated a Fertilizer Subsidy Programme expected to run for 84 months.
The programme which is at an 8 per cent completion rate is expected to cost the taxpayer Ksh100 billion.
Ruto’s administration has also an ongoing subsidy programme at the State Department for Industry which was started in 2018 by the former administration.
The project named Cotton Development Subsidy and Extension Support (RIVATEX) is 32 per cent complete and is expected to cost the taxpayer Ksh1 billion.
During his inauguration speech in September 2022, President William Ruto accused the previous administration of using the subsidy programme to loot public resources.
