Kenyan Budget Announced

Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich yesterday presented the 2019/20 budget worth over Sh3 trillion. It is the highest budget in the region, coming in at more than Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania’s budgets for 2019/20 combined.

The budget includes the introduction of new tax measures, with increased excise duty on beer, spirits and cigarettes, as well as a significant rise on the tax on profits from sale of assets from 5% to 12.5%.

Unsurprisingly there was a substantial allocation for the Government’s big four agenda in the budget of Sh450 billion. Another area to receive a big boost in spending was security, which is set to increase from Sh293 billion to Sh325 billion. The rise will fund measures such as the installation of 3,200 CCTV cameras in Nairobi and several other hubs.

An increased allocation was also announced for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), a key body in the fight against corruption. The DCI’s funding is set to rise from Sh6.4 billion to Sh7.1 billion.

According to Rotich the Government anticipates growth of 6.3% in 2019, similar to 2018.

The legality of yesterday’s budget has come under question, however, as the budget-making process did not comply with a High Court ruling of 2018 that the Treasury Secretary must present both the budget estimates and Finance Bill to the National Assembly.

The new financial year starts on July 1.