STATE HOUSE ALLOCATED AN ADDITIONAL KSH3 BILLION FOR RENOVATIONS

The National Treasury has allocated an additional Ksh3.698 billion to the State House for renovations in the third Supplementary Budget for the financial year 2024/2025.The fresh injection tabled by the National Treasury less than two weeks before June 30, is largely directed towards domestic travel and operational costs, with significant increases recorded in transport, hospitality, salaries, and general maintenance. 44.21% of this amount is required to address the shortfall in operations and maintenance expenses. Out of this, the allocation for local travel and other transportation costs for the State House in Nairobi has risen from Ksh933.1 million to Ksh2.1 billion. Meanwhile, other unassigned operating expenses have increased from Ksh1.36 billion to Ksh3.1 billion.

The Exchequer stated that the additional allocation will cover increased recurrent expenditure for the State House. The allocation for salaries of permanent employees at the State House, Nairobi, has risen to Ksh1.21 billion from Ksh1.1 billion. Other increased expenditures include greater spending on hospitality supplies and services from Ksh663.8 million to Ksh1.05 billion, alongside routine maintenance of vehicles, which has gone from Ksh262.5 million to Ksh497.5 million. However, the Treasury has reduced the allocation for the administration of statutory benefits for retired presidents and vice presidents by Ksh81.4 million.

 The third supplementary budget proposes to raise overall government spending by Ksh18.9 billion. Other top recipients of extra allocations include the Teachers Service Commission, the State Department for Higher Education, the Internal Security, and the National Intelligence Service.