Kenya’s Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang’o, has released a report detailing national government spending in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, revealing heavy expenditure at State House despite the President’s public commitment to austerity.
The report shows that between July and September 2025, State House spent about KSh 4.5 billion, averaging roughly KSh 50 million per day. Nyakang’o noted that the Presidency recorded one of the highest spending levels across government entities during the period.
This level of expenditure contrasts sharply with President William Ruto’s 2024 pledge to rein in costs, curb the swelling wage bill and reduce reliance on borrowing. For context, during the first nine months of the 2024/2025 financial year, State House spent KSh 5.6 billion on salaries, KSh 1 billion on domestic travel, KSh 697.5 million on hospitality, and KSh 300.4 million on fuel and lubricants.
According to the CoB’s breakdown for the first quarter of FY 2025/2026, State House spending included KSh 689.83 million on salaries, KSh 292.7 million on domestic travel, KSh 199.2 million on hospitality, and KSh 98 million on fuel and lubricants. Additional costs covered utilities, supplies and services amounting to KSh 25.69 million, communication expenses of KSh 4.19 million, international travel worth KSh 3.43 million, and KSh 55.1 million spent on routine vehicle maintenance.
Nyakang’o observed that State House recorded the highest ratio of recurrent exchequer issues to recurrent net estimates, at 58 per cent. Overall, the institution achieved an absorption rate of 55 per cent, significantly higher than the first-quarter government-wide average of 25 per cent.
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While this points to efficient budget execution, the CoB warned that such rapid spending poses a risk of exhausting the allocated budget well before the end of the financial year, potentially undermining budget credibility. State House was allocated KSh 8.58 billion for the entire 2025/2026 financial year, meaning more than half of the funds were spent within just three months.
The report also showed that the Executive Office of the President spent KSh 1.04 billion during the same period. This included KSh 463.21 million on salaries, KSh 8.34 million on international travel, KSh 49.93 million on domestic travel, KSh 40.41 million on hospitality, KSh 12.35 million on fuel, and KSh 275.1 million on other operational expenses.
