Budget making process brochure

KENYA’S BUDGET CALENDAR The budget making timeline at national and county levels The timelines and key dates that the budget making calendar in Kenya follows are stipulated by the public finance management act.

The financial year in Kenya starts on the 1st of July.

The budget making process begins with a circular from the national treasury (and county treasury at county level).

This circular de nes the schedule for the year. The circular is also intended to identify “key policy areas and issues that are to be taken into consideration when preparing the budget".

This circular is issued by August 30th. In other words, the budget process for the coming year formally begins with a timetable and an overview of main themes two months after the beginning of the current financial year.

30th August

1

The Cabinet Secretary at the national level and the County Executive Member for Finance at county level must issue a circular to all government departments by 30th August.

Citizens need to get this circular because it provides the a timetable for the budget making process.

Having information helps citizens plan for the key budget making dates and prepare to participate in the budget making process.

This circular is important because it advises on how to prepare budget requests for the year.

The circular is also supposed to contain the budget formulation calendar for the year, including opportunities for public participation.

This is an important step in the budget making process because the annual development plan gives an overview of priority programmes (including both recurrent and development spending) that will be funded in the county.

2

1st September Counties must prepare and table the Annual Development Plan in the County Assembly by 1st September.

The Annual Development Plan is a one-year extract of the five year County Integrated Development Plan.

The Annual Development Plan is the key planning document that guides the budget-making process.

The plan must be made public within 7 days

21st October After cabinet approval, the national and county budget review and outlook papers must be tabled at the national and county assemblies.

3

The BROP also tells mwananchi if their county misappropriated their money or transferred it to other functions which hadn’t been allocated in the budget

The budget review and outlook paper is a document that provides an economic and financial assessment of the previous year’s expenditure, a status update of the 1st quarter of the current financial year as well as a forecast of the coming financial year.

Sector Working Groups (SWGs) have their hearings at this time.

This is an important step in the budget making process because it is where mwananchi is invited to give broad views of the projects they want implemented.

SWGs are meant to facilitate government coordination around the budget, so that the main departments and agencies within each sector negotiate over priorities.

SWGs organize discussions with government agencies and non-state actors operating within the national government’s ten sectors to identify budget priorities for the next three years.

It is important for mwananchi to get a copy of the Budget Review and Outlook Paper (BROP) so that they know if their county overspent or underspent their money.

4

1st September - 15th February During this time, The National Treasury and the various ministries and agencies should undertake some type of consultation with the public and other stakeholders. This can include sector hearings as in the past, or visits to counties to solicit views.

Views from the public should feed into the formulation of the Budget Policy Statement.

A similar process should occur at the county level under the direction of the county treasury

15th February This is the deadline for the Cabinet Secretary, The National Treasury, to submit the national Budget Policy Statement to Parliament.

5

This is an important stage in the budget making process because it gives citizens information about which of their proposals the government took in and which ones the government left out (during sector hearings).

The budget policy statement is the first document that treasury submits to the Assemblies after revision and citizens views are incorporated. This is the consolidated budget from all ministries.

It is also the deadline for the debt management strategy paper, and the Division of Revenue and County Allocation of Revenue Bills to go to parliament.

6

28th February Deadline for the Budget Policy Statement to be approved by Parliament.

This is also the deadline for the County Fiscal Strategy Paper to be tabled in each County Assembly.

1st March

7

Deadline for the Budget Policy Statement to be made available to the public

The division of revenue bill, which is first presented on February 15th, is passed at this stage.

Citizens can interrogate the formula and give input on the formula, especially checking how much their county is getting from the share of national revenue.

Citizens can also check if there are any conditional grants / funds or the equalization fund allocated to their counties.

Making the Budget Policy Statement available to the public is important because citizens can see whether their proposals was taken up and included in the budget proposal.

If they were not, this stage of the budget making process gives citizens an opportunity to make counter arguments to the county assembly to incorporate their proposals into the budget.

8

16th March This is the deadline for passing the Division of Revenue and County Allocation of Revenue Bills.

30th April The national and county budget estimates are tabled on this date in the respective assemblies.

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At this stage, the citizen's key priority should be the get the detailed budget estimates tabled and interrogate it against the budget policy statement, their views and recommendations.

Citizens start developing memorandums in the event they are not satisfied with the allocations.

This is the detailed budget at program level (which is below the level of ministries).

At this stage, the total budget and sector distribution can not be changed, but funds may be moved around between programs.

At both levels of government, assemblies have two months to make these changes.

This stage of the budget making process is important because citizens and other stakeholders can challenge the budget proposals tabled by the executive.

The assemblies have limited lee way to amend the budget proposals.

10

May This is likely when the national and county budget committees will begin to hold public hearings on the budget.

These hearings are meant to confirm that the budget presented by national and county executives reflects the needs and contributions of various stakeholders

May-June This is when the national and county budget committees will table their recommendations on the budget in Parliament and county assemblies

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15th May This is the deadline for the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury, to give any comments on Judiciary and Parliamentary budget requests

June

13

The national finance bill to authorize tax and revenue collection is tabled in parliament.

The finance bill is a critical document because it gives citizens a chance to know how much of their input on had was considered in terms of levies, licenses and fines.

Citizen follow up of the finance bill at county level is critical because the levies, licenses and fines ought to reflect the needs of citizens.

A county finance bill is to be tabled at this time at the county assembly.

14

30th June End of the financial year.

By this date, the national and county appropriation bills should be approved by assemblies at both levels.

These bills authorize the government to spend against the budget from July 1st (The next financial year)

Investment in family planning in Kenya is done through the budget making process, both at national level and at county level.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY PLANNING AND THE BUDGET MAKING PROCESS?

Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) Hatheru Court | Hatheru Road (Lavington) Nairobi

Both the national and county governments are required to engage stakeholders in making the budget at both levels. Such stakeholders include technical experts, citizens and citizens’ groups.

Kenya's budget making process is one where stakeholders scrutinise each other’s proposals, ask questions, and build consensus.

To advocate for family planning funding effectively, it is important to understand the budget making process and participate in it.

info@dswkenya.org

February 2017

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