By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
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Kenya, 11 June 2026 - Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has unveiled plans to reduce the government's reliance on supplementary budgets, arguing that frequent revisions to spending plans have contributed to concerns over fiscal discipline and weakened confidence in the budgeting process.
The move comes as the National Treasury faces growing pressure to contain public expenditure, narrow the budget deficit and improve transparency in the management of public finances amid rising debt-servicing obligations and slower-than-expected revenue growth.
Speaking on the issue, Mbadi said the government is seeking to strengthen the credibility of the annual budget by ensuring ministries, departments and agencies work within their approved allocations rather than repeatedly seeking additional funding during the financial year.
"If you notice, I am one person who believes we should kill supplementary budgets. So we are gradually moving there," Mbadi said, noting that Kenya has traditionally relied on multiple supplementary budgets during a single fiscal year.
Supplementary budgets are additional spending requests submitted after the main budget has already been approved. While the Constitution allows them to cater for unforeseen expenditure and emergencies, critics have long argued that they are increasingly being used to accommodate poor planning and spending overruns.
Kenya has historically approved between two and three supplementary budgets annually, often resulting in significant adjustments to expenditure plans midway through the financial year.
Mbadi's latest remarks come against the backdrop of a proposed KSh4.82 trillion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, at a time when Treasury is grappling with declining fiscal space and mounting pressure to control expenditure.
The government expects to collect about KSh3.63 trillion in revenue, leaving a financing gap of roughly Sh1.1 trillion.
The Treasury chief has repeatedly warned that the country's fiscal challenges are being compounded by slower economic growth, underperforming revenue collections and rising mandatory expenditure, including debt servicing, salaries and county allocations.
"The moment the projected economic growth comes down, revenue projection will come down. And if revenue is down, how do you finance the same budget? Either by borrowing or taxation," Mbadi said recently while discussing the government's budget outlook.
He has ruled out both options as sustainable solutions, insisting that Kenya can no longer depend heavily on new taxes or excessive borrowing.
"We have no option to come for more taxes. Borrowing is another no-go zone," he stated.
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The push to minimize supplementary budgets is also linked to broader reforms being pursued at the Treasury.
Mbadi has previously revealed that the government is shifting toward a more rigorous budgeting framework that requires ministries and agencies to justify expenditure requests before funds are allocated.
"This year's budget will be a zero-based budget, which is different from the traditional budgeting, where you take the previous year's budget and put a markup. This time, every expenditure had to be justified by the Ministries, Departments and government Agencies," he said.
The reforms are intended to address long-standing concerns about wastage, duplication of expenditure and the accumulation of pending bills across government institutions.
However, eliminating supplementary budgets may prove difficult given the unpredictable nature of government spending.
Security operations, natural disasters, public sector wage agreements and emerging development priorities often require additional funding outside the original budget framework.
Indeed, earlier this year Treasury increased government spending through supplementary estimates after receiving requests to address salary shortfalls and other critical expenditure needs.
"The National Treasury has received additional expenditure requests to cater for emerging priorities and shortfalls under critical expenditures," Mbadi said when presenting supplementary estimates earlier in the year.
Even so, Treasury appears determined to reduce the frequency and size of such revisions as part of a broader effort to restore fiscal discipline and ensure government spending remains aligned with available revenue.
The proposal is likely to feature prominently as Parliament scrutinizes the 2026/27 budget and assesses whether the government can maintain spending controls while continuing to fund key priorities in education, healthcare, security, infrastructure and social protection.