The National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee has proposed a shift in budgetary policies at the Ministry of Defence in a new move aimed at saving the taxpayer's money.
In a report on the proposed 2024 Budget Policy Statement, the committee led by Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro proposed that the Ministry, which includes the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) prioritise the leasing of equipment, a shift from the current purchasing policy.
It was explained that the move would promote efficiency and sustainability given the technological advancement in defence technology.
The Nyoro committee elaborated that the Ministry currently spends a lot of money on purchasing equipment which is rendered obsolete within a short time.
"We propose that, in the 2025 BPS, the Ministry of Defence consider the leasing of equipment and systems it uses since rapid changes in technology make leasing more affordable than purchasing.
"That way, the Ministry will avoid the risk of sinking huge budgets into equipment and systems that become obsolete before the end of their useful period," read the report in part.
Initially, Members of Parliament intended to extend the proposals to other security agencies such as the National Intelligence Service (NIS), however, it was noted that leasing would jeopardise the critical role of the spy team.
"The Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations observed that given the nature of work that the National Intelligence Service undertakes, it has not been possible to engage in leasing of equipment and systems for acquiring the necessary equipment.
"However, given constantly changing technology, there is a need to consider leasing such equipment to cushion the Service from the high cost of replacing them every time there are technological advancements," the report highlighted.
The Ministry of Defence and the NIS are among the major departments that take up billions in budgetary allocations.
For instance, in the first six months of the current Financial Year, the Ministry of Defence and NIS received slightly over Ksh81 billion.
"Ministry of Defence received Ksh61.03 billion for recurrent activities, representing 41.6 per cent, and Ksh422.79 million for development expenditure, representing 15.5 per cent of development revised net estimates, while NIS received Ksh19.95 billion, representing 43.5 per cent of the recurrent revised net estimates," read a report by the Controller of budget.
Notably, a substantial amount of money in the budget is used for the modernisation of security equipment through the purchase of aircraft, advanced guns, and vehicles among others.
