Key financial boards on different seating have described the Kenyan revenue as ambitious and oblivious, given that 68 percent of its will be allocated to repaying loans.
Officials from the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), Controller of Budget (CoB) and Institute of Certified Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget on Thursday. This is after the 2019 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) release.
The Treasury says revenue is projected to increase by Sh249.4 billion to Sh2.08 trillion in 2019/2020 from Sh1.83 trillion in 2018/2019.
Agencies have described the projections as a complete departure from reality that has given the national government the leeway to borrow and slash already budgeted funds for development to bridge deficits.
They said that the revenue projections the National Treasury has given over the years has been “ambitious in nature and oblivious of the reality”.
Mr Joshua Musyimi, the director of research and planning at the CoB, said that, if the numbers were to be believed, the natural conclusion is that the government uses Sh600 billion to run its programmes, which is unlikely.
“Compared with historical trends, the projected increase may be unrealistic and therefore unachievable,” Mr Musyimi warned.