Treasury shelves Sh1.3 billion allocated to first lady and DP's spouse

The National Treasury has shelved the funds budgeted for salaries and other expenses at the offices of First Lady Rachel Ruto and Second Lady Dorcas Gachagua, the deputy president's spouse, for this financial year.

Amounting to Sh1.25 billion, the total withdrawal of the budget allocation to these offices aligns with President William Ruto's directive to freeze their funding amid public outrage stemming from the Gen-Z-led anti-tax protests.

Submitted to the National Assembly, the supplementary expenditure estimate 1 shows the Sh696.6 million initially allocated to the office of the First Lady was removed from the 2024/25 expenditure.

On the other hand, the Sh557.6 million initially allocated to the office of the spouse of the deputy president was also expunged from the budget.

"This is to align the 2024/25 spending plan with the downgraded revenue forecast on the back of the Finance Bill withdrawal," the National Treasury said.

The supplementary estimates come with other ministerial budget slashes pointing towards fiscal consolidation for the year ahead.

President Ruto, a week after withdrawing the 2024 Finance Bill, indicated that the way to cater for the void was to slash spending by Sh177.0 billion while borrowing an extra Sh169.7 billion.

President William Ruto during a press briefing at State House, Nairobi, on June 25, 2024, after a day of deadly protests. (Photo: REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi)

The slashes in the supplementary budget amount to Sh156.39 billion, Sh34.05 billion on recurrent spending, and Sh122.35 billion on development spending.

All development spending initially allocated to the office of the president, the office of the deputy president, and the state house was also shelved.

The total budget for the aforementioned offices is therefore earmarked for a Sh9.35 billion slash to Sh11.31 billion, translating to a 45.6 per cent cut.

The education budget, including TSC, is earmarked for a Sh36.03 billion slash to Sh623.12 billion, a 5.47 per cent cut. Health's budget was also slashed by Sh12.79 billion to Sh118.24 billion, representing a 9.76 per cent cut.

The agriculture budget is earmarked for a Sh7.71 billion budget reduction to Sh64.84 billion. MSMEs, Trade, Investment & Cooperatives budget is earmarked for a Sh3.21 billion budget cut (9.96 per cent reduction). 

The Energy, Petroleum, & Mining budget is set for a Sh19.69 billion cut (19.19 per cent slash) to Sh82.93 billion. Labour & Social Protection is earmarked for a Sh770.56 million cut (1.87 per cent slash) to Sh40.37 billion.

Defence & internal security are earmarked for a Sh8.69 billion cut (4.16 per cent slash) to Sh200.28 billion. Roads, Transport, Shipping, & Maritime is earmarked for a Sh18.43 billion reduction (7.24 per cent budget cut) to Sh236.16 billion.

In response, National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula confirmed receipt of the estimates and transmitted them to the National Assembly's Budget & Appropriations Committee for consideration.

The Budget & Appropriations Committee will conduct public participation on the same and report back to the House by July 24.

Ruto, during a roundtable meeting with the media on Sunday, June 30, announced that the offices of the First Lady Rachel Ruto and Second Lady Dorcas Rigathi will not be included in the new budget after protesters rallied him to expunge the two offices.

"Offices such as that of the First Lady have existed before, but from tomorrow we are going to do away with that and other offices so that we can check our spending. On Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS), the court declared themselves on that and we have respected that. No CAS will be appointed until we have an economy that supports more opportunities," he said.