Treasury rolls out measures to cut expenditure in ministries and state departments

Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia in a memo to all government ministries, state departments and agencies directed accounting officers to enforce the austerity measures within their departments. 

The budget cuts in government targets local and foreign trainings, office and general supplies, hospitality supplies and services, local and foreign travel, purchase of office furniture, purchase of office equipment.

Treasury has directed for meetings and task forces to undertake their engagements in boardrooms, suspended any new trainings and limit requisition for lunches. 

In the memo, treasury has also directed for the suspension of purchase computers and ICT materials and frozen workshop and retreats except in exceptional circumstances.

The order follows President Ruto’s directive to treasury to slash Ksh.300 billion from the government’s annual expenditure this financial year. The move is aimed at bringing back sanity in spending in public service and unshackle the country from the burden of public debt.

President Ruto also said he aimed to bring the recurrent expenditure down further next year by an undisclosed amount, in a bid to achieve a recurrent budget surplus by the third year. 

Recurrent expenditure usually includes civil servant salaries, domestic and foreign interest payments, pensions and operation and maintenance within the ministries and departments.