Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has warned ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that they risk losing funding if they fail to conduct proper public participation in the budget process, as lawmakers tighten oversight on spending and push for zero-based budgeting.
- •The zero-based budgeting approach requires expenditure proposals to compete for funding on an equal basis – starting afresh-from zero- each financial year.
- •This means that each government unit’s budget needs to be justified and approved, rather than just being based on historical trends which is generally incremental in nature.
- •Speaking at the launch of sector working groups for the 2026/27 budget on Monday, Mbadi said citizen engagement was no longer optional.
“If you are not conducting public participation, you may not get the resources you are requesting,” Mbadi said. “We must ensure the budget reflects the priorities of all Kenyans.”
His remarks came as the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman, Samuel Atandi, said parliament had directed sector working groups to fully embrace zero-based budgeting.
“This approach will ensure that every expenditure is justified, inefficiencies are eliminated and resources are allocated to high-priority programmes,” Atandi said.
Parliament has also ordered the Intergovernmental Technical Relations Committee to unbundle devolved functions still carried out by the national government, particularly in health, agriculture and water. Atandi said the move would curb duplication and reduce disputes between the National Assembly and the Senate over revenue sharing.
“We know there is little room to transfer more resources to counties. The only option left is to ensure that functions currently being handled by the national government and which should be devolved are transferred quickly,” he said.
Both Mbadi and Atandi highlighted the clearance of pending bills as critical to unlocking liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises. A verification committee is auditing obligations accumulated between 2020/21 and 2022, which officials say is essential to restore trust in the public finance system.
Mbadi said fiscal discipline, efficiency reforms and public participation would determine the credibility of the 2026/27 budget, while Atandi stressed parliament would be closely watching for compliance.
