Despite mounting pressure to cut costs, the Ndindi Nyoro-led Budget and Appropriations Committee has called the Treasury’s plans to close the First and Second Lady’s offices into question.
This would effectively extend the existence of these offices, which Kenyans have demanded be abolished.
This decision comes as a significant relief to the staff after a heated debate over President William Ruto’s proposal to cut spending in the first Supplementary Budget of the current fiscal year.
President Ruto initially proposed significant budget cuts, aiming to eliminate confidential expenditures for the Office of the Deputy President, as well as allocations to the Office of the First Lady and the Office of the Spouse to the Deputy President.
The National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and Internal Security strongly opposed the proposal.
Narok West MP Gabriel Koshal Tongoyo, chair of the Committee, and members such as George Peter Kaluma argued that terminating the contracts of employees in these offices could result in legal challenges and additional costs.
They emphasised the contracts’ binding nature and the potential financial consequences of discontinuing these services.
The committee’s decision to retain the budget lines has sparked debate and speculation about the implications.
Treasury had originally eliminated budget lines for the offices of First Lady Rachael Ruto and Second Lady Dorcas Gachagua in order to save Ksh1.25 billion in the current fiscal year.
This move was part of a larger strategy to implement austerity measures across the national government to address a Ksh346 billion deficit caused by the now-defunct controversial Finance Bill 2024.
Rachael Ruto, President Ruto’s spouse, received Ksh696.6 million, a 17.3 percent increase over the previous year’s allocation of Ksh593.9 million.
The office of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s spouse received a complete budget cut, losing Ksh557.6 million in the proposed Supplementary Budget 1, which is currently being scrutinized by parliament.
The budget for Ms Gachagua’s office had already been reduced from the Ksh717 million allocated in the 2023-24 budget.
These cuts were part of President Ruto’s promise to eliminate budgets allocated to the offices of the First and Second Ladies, following nationwide anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.
“Budget lines providing for the operations of the offices of the First Lady, the spouses of the Deputy President, and the Prime Cabinet Secretary shall be removed,” President Ruto announced in an address to the nation.
As parliamentary scrutiny of the Supplementary Budget continues, the fate of these budget lines remains a point of contention.
The decision to keep the budget for the First and Second Lady’s offices marks a watershed moment in the ongoing debate about government spending and fiscal responsibility.
The final outcome is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the administration and the larger political class.
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