Environment Committee engages MDAs on 2025 Budget Policy Statement as MPs call for support from Treasury

Environment Committee engages MDAs on 2025 Budget Policy Statement as MPs call for support from Treasury

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫
𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.

Members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Environment Forestry and Miming have called on the National Treasury to support all Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) by providing them with full estimates of budgetary allocations. 

During an engagement sitting with the State Departments under the purview of the Committee - Environment and Climate Change, Forestry and the State Department For Mining, the Committee noted that the National Treasury has been notorious with introducing budget cuts on estimated budgetary allocations which affects the work plan of these public institutions. 

The PS in the State Department for Environment and Climate Change Festus Ng'eno, his counterpart in the State Department for Forestry Mr. Gitonga Mugambi and Mr. Elijah Mwangi from the State Department of Mining while defending their 2025 Budget Policy Statements, called on the Committee to consider reviewing some of the budgetary ceilings to allow them to increase their performance and service delivery. 

PS Ng'eno used the opportunity to inform the Committee of his plans to see Kenya start the first Gold processing refinery by mid this year. 

"We have made all the plans with some good progress, after we visited other countries to learn, I can assure this Committee that Kenya will be running the first Gold refinery in Kakamega by mid this year, this in itself will be a major boost to this industry and the countries economy", he revealed. 

PS Ng'eno called on the Committee to support the State Department for Environment and Climate Change pushing for an increase in financial allocations to bridge the shortfalls between financial requirements and allocations. 

Committee Members Hon. Beatrice Kemei (Kericho) and Hon. Joseph Emathe (Turkana Central) called on Forestry PS Gitonga Mugambi to take seriously the tree planting project in the country in order to achieve the anticipated 30% forest cover by 2032. 

In Support of the same, PS Mugambi called on the Committee to intervene for additional Ksh. 1 Billion being the foreign funding resource gap.

Committee Chairperson Hon. David Gikaria (Nakuru town East) called on the three State Departments to ensure prudent use of resources and realisation of all projects supported by public funds. 

"We want to see an increase in your absorption percentages in the next financial year, some of you are not spending what we allocate, that is not service to the public, as we assure you of our support, we want to see work on the ground, we want to see you transform the lives of Kenyans through tangible Government projects", Hon. Gikaria.