NAIROBI- National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Hon. John Mbadi has reassured Members of the National Assembly that the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2024/2025 Financial Year.
Appearing before National Assembly to respond to Members Questions, CS Mbadi revealed that yhe National Government Constituencies Development Fund was allocated Kshs. 68.2 billion in the budget for Financial Year 2024/2025, including arrears of Kshs.13.56 billion.
“The National Treasury scheduled monthly disbursement of Kshs. 7 billion effective from January 2025 to ensure that the full allocation is disbursed by end of the financial year,” stated Hon. Mbadi.
“As of today, an amount of Kshs. 27.5 billion has been disbursed, hence a balance of Kshs. 40.7 billion as per the attached schedule.”
While addressing Members of the National Assembly, Hon. Mbadi cited January to March as the most challenging fiscal months, with the Treasury having to settle loan obligations and salaries totaling over Kshs. 150 billion.
“In January alone, we paid Kshs. 75 billion in loans and Kshs. 80 billion in salaries,” he said. The CS added that despite these pressures, the government had paid capitation for schools in full and committed to disbursing the balance of Kshs.40.7 billion NG-CDF by end of the financial year.
Speaking on the country’s external debt, CS Mbadi dispelled fears of a potential default on Kenya’s external debt, saying the country was facing a liquidity problem, not insolvency. “The challenge is not debt sustainability but liquidity. From 2034 to 2048, we won’t have any significant external debt obligations,” he told the House.
Hon. Jane Kagiri (Laikipia County) raised concerns over delays in the release of funds for sanitary towels and gender-based violence initiatives. “Our girl children are in dire need. Kindly give us a date when the money will be released,” she appealed to the CS.
The National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), was initially allocated a budget of Kshs.3.5 billion in the Financial Year 2024/2025 which was subsequently reduced to Kshs. 2.7 billion in Supplementary II estimates.
CS Mbadi announced, “So far, an amount of 1.6Bn has been disbursed and will disburse the balance in the course of this month.”
Hon. Bensouda Osogo (Migori County) urged Treasury to release NGAAF in one lump sum at the beginning of the financial year. “We would like the CS to also give us a plan of releasing NGAAF the same way he has committed to NG-CDF,” she said.
The National Treasury CS said, “We saw no need to split the remaining amount. As of today, there is a zero balance on NGAAF disbursement.”
Speaker Wetang’ula, while commending the CS for his transparency, urged him to improve the timeliness of fund releases. “Minister, you have spoken to us candidly. Let’s avoid the bottlenecks we experienced in January, February, and March,” said the Speaker.
The Speaker also addressed the budget cut to NGAAF in Supplementary II estimates, calling for its restoration in the next budget cycle. “The cut was too small to justify the damage. We must support our women MPs who rely on this fund to drive grassroots development,” Hon. Wetang’ula added.
CS Mbadi, assured the House of his commitment to support constituency development and service delivery. “The National Treasury remains committed to funding NGCDF and NGAAF and other items of interest to the Honorable Members, appreciating the support and collaboration between Parliament and the Executive,” he said.
