NAIROBI, Kenya- New government spending data shows that State House has exhausted its entire recurrent budget for the 2025/26 financial year with five months still to go, raising fresh concerns over fiscal discipline in the Executive.
According to figures released by the National Treasury, recurrent expenditure at State House had climbed to Sh10.4 billion by the end of January 2026, Sh2.7 billion above the Sh7.7 billion originally approved for the full year.
The overrun comes despite recurrent costs traditionally being spread evenly across the financial cycle.
Recurrent spending covers daily operational needs — from travel and hospitality to fuel, maintenance and staff allowances.
January alone saw an unusually sharp increase, with Sh1.3 billion spent in a single month, averaging more than Sh42 million per day.
State House and DP Office Lead Overspenders
State House is not alone.
The Office of the Deputy President has also breached its full-year recurrent allocation, exceeding its budget by about Sh361.6 million in the same period.
These two executive offices are the only entities reported to have blown their ceilings this early in the year.
Treasury officials warn that such overruns complicate fiscal management, often forcing unplanned reallocations or the use of contingency funds to fill funding gaps, especially as revenue underperformance continues to strain government coffers.
Budget Pressures Amid Revenue Shortfalls
The spending surge comes as the government prepares a Sh262.9 billion supplementary budget to address under-recovery of revenues and rising operational costs.
The mini-budget, which Parliament will consider in the coming weeks, is expected to raise total government expenditure for the year to Sh4.532 trillion, up from the Sh4.269 trillion initially approved.
Under the revised estimates, recurrent spending is set to increase by Sh204.6 billion to Sh3.338 trillion, while development allocations are projected to grow by Sh58.3 billion to Sh707.3 billion, reflecting broad pressure across government programmes.
This trend mirrors previous fiscal reports showing a sharp rise in recurrent spending relative to development outlays, narrowing the room for infrastructure, social programmes and county disbursements.
Controller of Budget reports have highlighted that the growing share of operational costs, including salaries and debt servicing, continues to squeeze development allocations.
Analysts say early overspending risks handcuffing policymakers later in the year, particularly if projected revenues continue to lag targets, a challenge Treasury figures have underscored in recent months.
The spotlight on the State House’s overshoot adds to ongoing public debates about budget implementation, transparency and the balance between recurrent costs and development priorities in Kenya’s tight fiscal environment.
Political Calendar in Overdrive
The spending surge comes amid an intense period of political activity at the State House.
Over recent months, the President has hosted dozens of political meetings, ranging from bipartisan talks, regional delegations, parliamentary caucuses, grassroots leaders, and coalition negotiations.
State House has also become a focal point for high-level consultations ahead of the 2027 political cycle, economic roundtables, diplomatic engagement,s and strategy sessions tied to ongoing power-sharing discussions.
Such engagements typically require extensive logistical support, hospitality arrangements, security coordination and travel planning — all of which fall under recurrent expenditure.
While State House spending traditionally rises during periods of heightened public engagements and diplomatic activity, opposition leaders say the scale and pace of the current overrun stand out.
