Slashing State House budget by half will stall operations, Katoo pleads

State House Comptroller Katoo ole Metito before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security in February 2024. [File, Standard]

State House Comptroller Katoo ole Metito has turned to Parliament in a bid to salvage a Sh1.7 billion budget after the House on the Hill suffered budget trims amounting to Sh5.1 billion for the 2024/2025 Financial year.

In the revised Supplementary Budget estimates for the current financial year, the National Treasury slashed State House’s budget from Sh9.4 billion to Sh4.3 billion in keeping with the austerity measures called for by President William Ruto. This represents a 54 per cent reduction in the budget.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security yesterday, Mr Katoo argued that the budget cuts were not tenable and unless the House team reinstates the Sh1.7 billion budget under the recurrent expenditure vote, operations risk grinding to a halt.

“If you put yourself in the shoes of the President, he says we can’t be pushing for budget cuts in other ministries without leading by example, but by the end of it, we might end up bringing to a halt all activities of the office. Let us reduce (the budget) in a reasonable way, not to close the office,” he told the committee.

He regretted that Sh591.9 million meant for compensation of employees had been slashed, an amount comprising Sh547 million set aside for payment of salaries for staff under the office of the First Lady which has since been scrapped by the President.

“We are requesting that those funds be retained for now as we try to regularise. These people had contracts, most are not permanent and pensionable, they serve during the tenure of the presidency and stopping their contracts just like that will have some legal repercussions,” said Katoo.

He was also gutted by trimming of Sh532.1 million for hospitality, supplies and services, Sh389.9 million for domestic travel and subsistence, Sh114.6 million for foreign travel, Sh43.9 million for rentals of produced assets, Sh37.9 million for communication, supplies and services and a further Sh25.6 million for printing and advertising services.

He urged the committee to reinstate the Confidential expenditure vote in the office of the President citing dire consequences for government should the kitty be done away with.

“…when you look at the vote like confidential expenditure, it has been reduced to Zero, and yet that is the heart of Government operations,” he said.

He urged them to approve estimates that would ensure continuity of government. “We take cognizance of the situation the country is in but we urge the committee that instead of reducing the budget by Sh5.1 billion, it be reduced by Sh3.3 billion which would be around a 36 per cent budget cut,” Katoo submitted.

Meanwhile, the office of the Deputy President has also borne the brunt of the budget cuts, after the National Treasury knocked off Sh2.7 billion from its budget, representing 50 per cent of its earlier allocation.

Principal Secretary Patrick Mwangi who also appeared before the committee submitted that key programmes under the DP’s office would be affected.

“We are going to affect programmes that had picked really well in coffee, tea, dairy, avocado among other crops that we had started addressing. We are also going to face the heat on curbing social vices like alcohol that had taken steam,” he said.

Laikipia West MP Sarah Korere however protested DP Rigathi Gachagua’s involvement with programmes such as those curbing drug and substance abuse, and asked him to leave them to relevant authorities such as Nacada.

“The Deputy President has no business handling issues of agriculture and Nacada. It is either we scrap Nacada and create an office to deal with drugs domiciled at the DP’s office, or we strengthen Nacada to do what it should do,” Korere said.

Mwangi however held that the DP’s office was up to the task and would ensure a total reform of the Agriculture and other sectors through coordination with agencies in the relevant ministries.

The office of the Spouse of the Deputy President Dorcas Gachagua was also scrapped following President Ruto’s pronouncement, with the Sh557 million being slashed entirely from the budget.

But in its defence, PS Mwangi said, “The office came in to provide the missing gap that the people being rehabilitated were being followed up with programmes and placed on job opportunities. We get concerned as public officers on how we are going to close that gap.”

Committee chairman Gabriel Tongoyo was however of the opinion that the medals budget be scrapped entirely.