By Jimi Wanjigi
Every year by April 30, the National Treasury is required by law to submit to the National Parliament the Estimates of the Revenue and Expenditure for the following financial Year as provided under Article 220(1)(a) read with Article 221 of the Constitution and sections 35(1)(e),(f),(h), 37(1)(a),(b), 37(9), 38(1)(b)(iv)&(v), 39(1)&2 of PFM Act, 2010 and Regulation 33 of the PFM Regulations 2015 (Legal Notice 34).
The constitutional and public finance statutory provisions quoted define Budget as estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and that the estimate budget shall be balanced; that is the total budget revenue shall cover total budget expenditure.
The Budget estimates submitted to the Parliament last week on Thursday, April 30, do not meet the form and content of the constitutional requirements.
They are incomplete. The Cabinet Secretary, Treasury John Mbadi submitted the Estimates of Expenditure and Finance Bill, 2026 without the comprehensive Estimates of the Revenue.
Where are the Revenue Estimates?
The Treasury has deliberately been misrepresenting budget estimates with intent of concealing the really status of the revenue raising meas.
This has opened flood gates of unconstitutional borrowing. This grave and costly mischief and unconstitutionality must end now.
The estimates of revenue constitute the consolidated fund. Therefore, without estimates of the revenue there is nothing to budget for and spend on.
Finance Bill is not and cannot be the constitutionally stipulated Estimates of Revenue.
Finance Bill comes after the publicly scrunitized, debated and approved Estimates of Revenue.
A Finance Bill only serves to amend or repeal existing tax laws. It is not mandatory to have Finance Bill if the budget is balanced.
Since 2013 budget making has been unconstitutional.
In November 2024, The Controller of Budget publicly told National Assembly committee on Constitution Implementation Oversight that Article 221 of the Constitution, which mandates transparency in both revenue estimates and expenditures has been violated.
She said, and I quote, “My office has flagged this error in the budget-making process, where Revenue Estimates are not clearly presented, yet according to the Constitution, both the revenue estimates and expenditure should be presented to Parliament. It is unconstitutional to bypass one or the other. We have been running an unconstitutional budget-making process. We are only seeing expenditures. Where where are the revenue estimates?”
We are demanding immediate withdrawal of the fake budget estimates that were presented last week to Parliament. A proper and constitutional budget estimates in form and content as required in Articles 220 and 221 of the Constitution must be presented to the Parliament and the people of Kenya.
Jimi Wanjigi is the Safina party leader and it’s Presidential aspirant
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