State House Calls For Reconsideration, Warns Slashing Its Budget Could Halt Operations
State House faces potential operational disruptions due to budget reductions resulting from the rejection of the 2024/2025 Finance Bill.
The State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Mitito disclosed that the budget has been slashed by 54%, from Ksh.9.496 billion to Ksh.4.382 billion, significantly affecting its operational capacity.
Katoo appealed to the Committee on Administration and Internal Security to reconsider these substantial cuts during his testimony.
“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 in the end, we might bring to a halt all the activities of the office. Let us reduce reasonably, not close the office,” he told the committee.
The Office of the First Lady and her advisors will face significant impact, with a reduction of Ksh.547 million allocated for salaries, consequent to the president’s directive to dissolve the office.
Katoo cautions about potential legal repercussions if staff contracts are terminated without adhering to labor laws, urging the committee to restore the funding.
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“We are requesting that those funds be retained for now as we try to regularize. These people had contracts; most were not permanent and pensionable. They serve during the tenure of the presidency. Stopping their contracts just like that will have some legal repercussions,” he said.
Katoo also lamented the withdrawal of funds meant for confidential use in the office of the President, stating that it could have serious repercussions on how the entire government is run.
“Look at the vote like confidential expenditure; it has been reduced to zero, and yet that is the heart of government operations,” he lamented.
According to Katoo, although economic times are hard and every government institution is cutting its expenditure, there is a need to balance and ensure that the government continues to run.
“What we were requesting is that out of the Ksh.5.1 billion that is being reduced, you add us some Ksh.1.7 billion so that the budget cut is Ksh.3.3 billion, which will be around a 36 percent budget cut,” he pleaded with the committee.
With Ksh.1.5 billion that was meant for the refurbishment of State House and State Lodges across the country also being removed, Katoo says that they could face cases in court as they had already entered agreements with contractors.
State House Calls For Reconsideration, Warns Slashing Its Budget Could Halt Operations
