Deputy President William Ruto says the early preparation for the next financial year's budget will allow the government to finalise and accommodate the August 2017 general election.
Ruto said they expect the government to run normally without disruptions to the development agenda, especially the preparation of the 2017/18 budget.
"The general election is not a crisis since it has been outlined in the Constitution and no government development agenda should halt or delay. We expect the government to run normally and don’t anticipate a disruption to our development agenda. We must not lose focus on the implementation of government programmes planned for this year,” said Ruto.
He made the remarks Wednesday during the launch of the budget preparation process for the 2017-18 financial year at KICC, Nairobi.
The DP at the same time asked the National Treasury to consult extensively especially with Parliament on the actual dates for the next budget reading to ensure it is done in time and is also not affected by the polls.
Ruto challenged all budget working sector groups to ensure the current budget is implemented even as the focus starts shifting on the preparation for the next one.
The DP also warned against wasteful request for resources by government agencies, adding that this will not be encouraged in the next budget.
“The next budget should give prominence to value for money. Public spending must be prudent and high value investments should be prioritised.”
The Treasury plans to set budget expenditure ceilings by September this year which will not be revised once passed.
Treasury CS Henry Rotich said the budget process has been revised adding that much work is expected to be done by January next year.
“The ceilings will be set based on our realistic projection of our revenue performance and our ability to borrow as guided by our Debt Sustainability Analysis,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said.
“All accounting officers will be required to respect this hard budget constraint and stay within the set ceilings as you compete for resources within your respective sectors.”
“As you have noticed, we have revised our budget calendar to enable the current Parliament approve the FY 2017/18 budget estimates in view of the fourth coming 2017 general election scheduled for August. The objective is to ensure that the budget for the 2017/18 is appropriated in good time for smooth operations of the budget before and after the elections,” Rotich added.