Parliament of KenyaIt was a busy week for Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries as they appeared before various House committees to discuss the 2025 Budget Policy Statement.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, alongside his counterparts Salim Mvurya (Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports) and Justin Muturi (Public Service and Human Capital Development) warned that budget cuts would hinder critical government programmes.
The three appeared before the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, chaired by Julius Murgor (West Pokot).
Mutua hinted at a likely reduction of monthly stipends under the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme for older persons from Sh2,000 to Sh1,000 due to a Sh19.85 billion shortfall. The 2025 BPS allocates Sh24.48 billion against a requirement of Sh44.33 billion.
Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni nonetheless called for an increase of the stipend to Sh4,000.
Mvurya told the committee that budget cuts over the past three years had hampered youth employment and job creation efforts.
He stated that the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy required an additional Sh 4.146 billion to implement key programmes.
Muturi expressed concern that his ministry had been allocated Sh9.896 billion for the 2025-26 financial year, falling short of the Sh24.17 billion required.
He warned that the shortfall could derail the implementation of a presidential directive to increase National Youth Service (NYS) recruitment from 10,000 to 100,000 by 2027-28.
Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi told the Energy Committee that the budgetary constraints will affect last-mile connectivity, the Green Resilient Energy programme, the Nuclear Exploration Programme, and the Food and Security energy programmes.
In the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS), the ministry was allocated Sh55 billion, of which Sh12 billion is for recurrent expenditures and Sh43 billion is for capital expenditures.
The 2025 (BPS, which is the third to be prepared under the Kenya Kwanza Administration, highlights the progress made in the implementation of the strategic interventions articulated in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and anchored on the Fourth Medium Term Plan of the Vision 2030.
The 2025 Budget Policy Statement is prepared in compliance with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.
It outlines the strategic priorities of the Government, highlights the current state of the economy, provides macro-fiscal outlook over the medium term together with a summary of Government spending plans as a basis for FY 2025/26.
During the week, members of the National Assembly rallied behind the National Police Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to improve the mental wellness of police officers through the establishment of psychosocial support centers.
The Bill, sponsored by Suna West MP Peter Masara, acknowledges the immense psychological toll of policing, where officers constantly face danger and trauma.
It mandates the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to prioritise mental health support, structured counseling and wellness programmes.
"Numerous studies, including the recent Mental Health Taskforce Report of 2020, have examined the aspect of mental health, but have overlooked the mental health of police officers. The proposed Bill therefore gives the National Police Service Commission various mandates aimed at promotion of the mental health of police officers,” Masara said.
Bungoma Woman Rep Catherine Wambilianga pointed out the need for counseling services for officers who face traumatising situations on duty.
“Our police officers have gone through very difficult situations when, for example, there's an accident on the road; they are the ones we call to remove the bodies. When there's drowning, we call them to remove the bodies for us. But at the end of the day, nobody seeks to sit down and counsel them,” she stated.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o while appearing before the Liaison Committee chaired by Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss, recommended that the National Treasury adopts sprudent strategies focused on debt management and revenue collection reforms to prevent financial instability.
She suggested a consistent review of Kenya’s debt portfolio emphasising on concessional loans with lower interest rates and favourable repayment terms over expensive commercial borrowing.
Nyaknag'o further called for implementation of comprehensive audits of debt procurement, utilisation and sustainability; and avoidance of premature debt commitments by ensuring that projects are fully prepared for implementation before contracting loans.
