NAIROBI, Kenya – Parliament has handed itself a record Sh48 billion allocation in the 2025/26 budget—up from Sh43 billion—despite Treasury warnings of a Sh876 billion fiscal deficit and sweeping funding cuts to critical sectors like health, education, and security.
The Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, raised Parliament’s allocation beyond the Sh42.5 billion cap proposed by Treasury.
The funds will cover National Assembly (Sh28.6bn), Senate (Sh8.2bn), Parliamentary Joint Services (Sh9.4bn), and the Parliamentary Service Commission (Sh2.8bn).
MPs defended the increase as essential for oversight and modernization.
Meanwhile, essential services were left underfunded.
The Teachers Service Commission missed Sh7.3 billion for converting 20,000 interns into permanent staff, HELB was denied Sh17 billion for incoming students, and health was short by Sh70 billion despite ambitious Universal Health Coverage goals.
Key sectors still received major shares—education (Sh701bn), infrastructure and ICT (Sh500bn), and defence (Sh213bn).
However, projects worth Sh233 billion remain unfunded, and county governments’ equitable share was frozen at Sh405 billion for a second year.
To bridge the deficit, the government plans to borrow Sh592 billion locally and Sh284 billion externally.
