Treasury CS John Mbadi defends ballooning State House budget

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the State House budget, emphasising that the facility serves all Kenyans and is designed to host official delegations efficiently.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Thursday, Mbadi said the cost of hosting visitors at State House is lower than in hotels because there is no rent to pay.

“State House belongs to the people of Kenya. People of Kenya should go to State House. In fact, if we could have an opportunity for all of us to meet the President, the better,” Mbadi said.

He added that having such a grand building only for the President and immediate family would not make sense, as it is designed to accommodate official visitors.

“Why should we have such a palatial building for only the President and then probably his wife and children? It would not make sense that the place is to host delegations,” Mbadi said, noting that delegations are hosted variedly depending on the circumstances.

The CS was also put to task about the increase in State House spending from Sh4.5 billion following the Gen Z protests to nearly Sh12 billion, a jump of more than Sh7 billion, largely on recurrent expenses without capital investment.

He acknowledged the figures needed verification but defended the approach.

“I will need to check those figures if that is what is contained in the bottom line. I cannot deny the fact that we did not increase the budget for State House,” Mbadi said.

Mbadi further explained CS Mbadi explained that previous budget cuts were made across the board and often contained mistakes.

“A lot of mistakes were made. I spoke to my team at the Treasury and decided to cut rent for government offices... There was no proper rationalisation,” he said.

The CS emphasised that the current budget process is more transparent and based on actual needs.

“If State House requires Sh10 billion, and it has justified the Sh10 billion in other sector hearings of security, because it’s part of security installation, we will give them Sh10 billion. But if they only require Sh5 billion, we’ll give them Sh5 billion,” Mbadi said.

The Treasury chief stressed that all funds allocated are essential and subject to strict auditing.

“There is no money that we give to be wasted. It must be essential. The Controller of Budget should look at the availability of money in the budget and approve, if there is a requisition, then the Auditor General will audit if that money was wasted,” Mbadi said.

State House has spent more than Sh 6.2 billion in recurrent expenditure within the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, according to official figures published in the latest Kenya Gazette.

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The report by the National Treasury and Economic Planning, dated November 14, 2025, lists actual revenues and net exchequer issues as of September 30, 2025.

The report reveals that the State House, listed under vote R1017, had an original budget estimate of Sh7.68 billion for the year.

However, in just four months, Sh6,202,114,281.95 has already been disbursed, representing just over 80 per cent of its annual allocation.

The enormous spending figures have placed Ruto’s State House among the top consumers of public funds in the country, surpassing some of the most critical departments in recurrent expenditure.

The Treasury had originally allocated Sh7,681,901,432.00 for the entire financial year.