State House official decries Sh4.3b budget slash, asks for Sh5b more

State House will suffer a Sh4.3 billion budget cut for the 2026/2027 financial year, should the estimates tabled before parliament be passed.

The estimates presented before the National Assembly’s Administration and Internal Security committee show that for the coming financial year, the House on the Hill has been allocated Sh13.6 billion for both its recurrent and development expenditure, which is a downward revision of its budget from Sh17 billion in the current financial year.

 State House is also grappling with a Sh7.2 billion budget shortfall after the National Treasury allocated it the billions despite a Sh20.8 billion resource requirement.

And while appearing before the MP Gabriel Tongoyo-led committee yesterday, State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Metito decried the budget cuts, noting that they would hamper State House operations.

“…With the limited resource allocation, we will be affected in our deliverables and hamper our work plan. We are seeking a rationalisation of the budget in terms of an additional allocation. If we can get an additional Sh5 billion and only remain with a deficit of Sh2 billion, then we can try to work with that,” he stated.

Katoo sought to understand why the reduction in its budget by the National Treasury occurred despite the fact that the National Budget had increased from a current Sh4.3 trillion to Sh4.8 trillion.

“I don’t understand how the national budget has increased, yet the State House’s budget has decreased…If the national treasury were to align the allocations with the budgetary increase, then we should have received Sh19.7 billion, which is just shy of our resource requirement,” the committee heard.

The lawmakers subsequently sought to establish why the State House had suffered the biggest budget cut, warning that such a move would lead the House to rely on Article 223 of the Constitution to allocate more funding to the State House in future.

“My question goes to the National Treasury; don’t you think it would have been fair to at least give them the Sh17 billion that they had been allocated as opposed to slashing Sh4 billion?” posed Tongoyo.

“That needs to be relooked at,” he added.

Sotik MP Francis Sigei defended the State House push for an increased budget, warning against what he termed “negative publicity influencing funding decisions.”

“We should not succumb to negative publicity. State House is a national image and we must give it enough resources for proper functioning,” he added.

At the same time, lawmakers sitting in the Internal Security committee called on the State House’s top brass to consider relocating the Nakuru State House, citing severe space constraints and inadequate land for expansion.

The issue was brought up by the Nakuru County Woman Representative, Liza Chelule, saying the current State House was squeezed and there was a need to relocate it for it to better serve its purpose.

“The Nakuru State House is in a bad condition and in a very poor position. It is squeezed and even close to the main road. Nakuru is now a city and is centrally located. We should acquire new land, which is more than 100 acres and relocate so that we can build proper structures that reflect the dignity of the State House,” submitted Chelule.

Adding that not even the construction of a pavilion within the current space would save the situation.

Committee chairperson Tongoyo, while acknowledging the legislators' concerns, noted that discussions on space were already underway.

 “There is 100 million shillings for innovation for State Houses and lodges. Out of that, something can be done to address these concerns,” he said, adding that expansion options should be explored through land acquisition or relocation plans.

In his response, Katoo explained that efforts to acquire land for expansion around some of the State House facilities had not been fruitful.

 “There is no space for expansion in Nakuru. There is very little space. Almost all the people there are genuine landowners. We went round and confirmed there is nowhere to expand unless we negotiate to buy land from the owners,” he said.

 “Maybe when we get funding, we can decide whether to expand or consider other options. These projects are phased across different financial years,” he said.

Lari MP Mburu Kahangara also weighed in, urging better communication of government projects to the public.

“I saw documentaries running at the refurbished State House showing what is happening across the country. We should buy airtime on national television so Kenyans can see these projects. Let Kenyans who cannot travel get the same feeling of what is happening,” added Kahangara.

Elgeyo Marakwet Woman Rep Caroline Jeptoo was concerned that the budget cuts would lead to downsizing of staff and affect service delivery.

“Decisions such as recruitment delays or austerity measures should be clarified, especially on their implications on staffing levels and effective delivery of services,” she said.

To which the Comptroller responded, “…staffing costs have reduced due to contract expiries affecting about 500 employees. Their contracts were not renewed within the new budget cycle.”