Kenyatta signs Appropriation Bill to release Sh161 billion for expenditure
President Uhuru Kenyatta signs into law the Supplementary Appropriation Bill at State House, Nairobi. Present during the signing were the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi who was accompanied by the Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale and Clerk Michael Sialai. Image: PSCU
BY PSCU and MWAKERA MWAJEFA
President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law the
Supplementary Appropriation Bill to release funds for government expenditure
for the financial year that is ending June 30.
The law mandates the National Treasury to release Sh161 billion from the Consolidated Fund to various government departments.
The funds are categorised into recurrent expenditure which totals to Sh107.5 billion and development expenditure that totals to Sh53.7 billion respectively.
The Act authorises among other things the release of Sh8 billion for settlement of pending Government bills.
The allocations for pending bills are aimed at effecting the payments to traders who have provided services to the government in line with the recent directive by President Kenyatta.
The law the President signed also reflects the continuation of the austerity measures that were entrenched at the beginning of the financial year that is closing.
The austerity measures are reflected in the reduction of Government expenditure by Sh58 billion, which was slashed from various departments.
Among the beneficiaries are the State Department of Infrastructure Sh16.6 billion, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Sh11.8 billion for development, the State Department for Crop Development Sh8.9 billion and the State Department for Sport Development Sh9.1 billion.
Others are the State Department of University Education Sh5.3 billion, the State Department of Vocational and Technical Training Sh2.6 billion, the Teachers Service Commission Sh14.1 billion, the State Department of Housing Sh7.8 billion and the State Department of Health Sh4.1 billion.
Image: PSCU
Earlier, President Kenyatta reaffirmed his commitment to the conservation biodiversity saying it was integral to the realisation of sustainable development.
He said the country could not achieve that development without making deliberate efforts to conserve nature adding that he was keen toward achieving a minimum of 10 per cent forest cover by 2022.
The President was speaking when he held talks with the President of the Geneva-based World Wide Fund (WWF) Pavan Sukhdev who paid him a courtesy call at State House, Nairobi.
Mr Sukhdev urged President Kenyatta to champion the agenda of promoting conservation as an aspect of protecting biodiversity and the wellbeing of people.
The Head of State agreed to a request to spearhead the conservation narrative at the United Nations General Assembly in September and the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda in 2020.
