Kenya Kwanza spent Sh216m on Raila’s AUC bid

By Newsflash Reporter

The government spent Sh216.3 million to fund former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s campaign for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has revealed in her latest report.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry had initially requested Sh523.8 million to back Raila’s candidacy in line with Kenya’s 2024 foreign policy strategy, but the Controller of Budget only approved a portion of the funds.

The allocation was made on February 5, 2025, roughly two weeks before the AUC elections, following a formal request submitted by the National Treasury on November 14, 2024.

Raila, who ran for the top AU post, eventually lost the contest to Djibouti’s former Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf.

Nyakang’o’s disclosure was contained in her third-quarter Budget Implementation Review Report for the 2024/25 financial year. The report also highlighted that while various government entities had requested an additional Sh185.8 billion in funding, only Sh12.2 billion was approved by her office.

Billions in requests

Among the other high-value requests was from State House, which sought Sh1.5 billion to cater for utility bills, official residence rent, local travel, hospitality, fuel, and vehicle maintenance. While Treasury cleared the request on February 27, 2025, the Controller only authorized Sh1.1 billion.

In total, Sh16.06 billion was released from the Contingencies Fund on March 7, with Sh22.1 million going to the Foreign Affairs Ministry for Raila’s AU campaign, under Article 223 of the Constitution. This provision allows the national government to spend beyond the approved budget under specific emergency or unforeseen circumstances.

Nyakang’o explained that the government is permitted to withdraw funds from the Contingencies Fund when amounts allocated in the Appropriations Act fall short, or when urgent needs arise. “The law permits additional funding during budget execution even where allocations are inadequate or non-existent,” she clarified.

She further disclosed that by the end of the first nine months of the 2024/25 financial year, her office had authorized a total of Sh42.2 billion under Article 223. She emphasized that all extra expenditures were later formalized through the Supplementary II Budget, in line with constitutional requirements under Article 223(2).

Sh2.4 billion disbursed by World Bank

The report also indicated that Sh2.4 billion disbursed by the World Bank was utilized by the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs under the Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project.

However, despite these interventions, the Controller flagged significant challenges in budget execution.

Among them were poor revenue performance—only 68 percent of the annual revenue target was collected in the first three quarters—delaying fund disbursement and reducing absorption rates across ministries and counties. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were among those affected by cash flow constraints.

Nyakang’o also criticized the frequent use of Article 223 to fund ongoing programs and settle predictable obligations, calling it a sign of poor budget planning. Additionally, she noted that mid-year adjustments to program targets made it difficult to measure outcomes, and delays in project implementation further weakened budget performance.

To address these issues, she advised the National Treasury to accelerate verification and payment of pending bills, adopt more realistic revenue projections, and reduce reliance on debt.