Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Engages State Agencies on 2024/2025 Budget Estimates
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Chaired by Tharaka MP, Hon George Murugara today met with the State Law Office, The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Commission on Administration of Justice (CAJ) to interrogate the Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) on their budget estimates for the 2024/2025 financial years.
The State Law Office, led by the Solicitor General (SG) of Kenya Hon. Shadrack J. Mose, urged the Committee to intervene in increasing the agency’s budgetary allocation, citing that the proposed cuts risked crippling the operations of the various departments under its office. The State Law Office has been allocated Kshs. 5.3 billion against a budgetary requirement of Kshs 6.32 billion creating a deficit of Kshs 992.3 million.
“There has been a budgetary cut of about Kshs 992 million in the next financial year’s allocation. Such a large cut risks crippling the operations of many of the offices under this docket, decried Hon. Mose.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) CEO, Mr. Marjan Hussein Marjan on his part informed the Committee that the Commission has also been affected by the budgetary cuts with an allocation of Kshs 3.7 billion against an expected budget ceiling of Kshs. 4.3 billion.
This, he pointed out, would affect electoral management, delimitation of Boundaries, election software maintenance, benchmarking programmes and pending bills which were vital in the commission performing it mandate
The Committee however expressed concerns over the failure by the National Treasury to back the IEBC in clearing its pending Bills which stood at Kshs 3.9 billion.
“Pending Bills especially the legal costs has been outstanding for far too long. Do you have a formula to find a way around reducing these bills?” enquired the Committee Chair Hon. Murugara
Mr. Washington Opiyo Sati, the Vice-Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) informed the Committee that the commission had noted a 14% reduction in its allocation after it was allocated Kshs. 662.0 million, less Kshs 83 million of the amount it received in the previous year despite having lined up several initiatives for launch.
Ms. Mercy Wambua who is the Commission Secretary and CEO in the Office of the Ombudsman informed the Members that the reduction would affect the launch of two key programmes, the automated ‘Pasha Ombudsman” feedback Service meant to provide the public with a platform to reach out and the launch of the State administrative Justice report.
Mukurweini MP, Hon John Kagucia, however urged the CAJ to consider combining the two programmes stating that strain in the budgets called for prudent use of the little resources available.
The Committee will continue meeting with all the Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) under its purview before preparing its report on the budgetary allocations for the state departments.
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