Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi defended the Executive’s budget allocation, saying renovations at State House are necessary because the House on the Hill has been neglected for years.
In response to criticism over the spending, Mbadi said the focus on the State House budget ignored the wider duties of the presidency and the need to restore key government facilities.
He said State House has deteriorated significantly, with parts of the building reportedly leaking, which he described as embarrassing for a nation that regularly hosts visiting heads of state and other international dignitaries.
During an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday, Mbadi said, “The truth of the matter is that if you saw the State House that we have been having, it had been left to rot. That’s the seat of power.”
He added: “Even if you look at the White House, they always maintain it. It looks beautiful. Our State House should not be left in a deplorable state where it is leaking. That’s a shame. That is where you host international dignitaries. The first impression they have of Kenya is that the people there are very disorganized. How do you expect them to do business?”
CS Mbadi said the Presidency’s allocation does not cover State House alone. He said the funding also supports state lodges and other functions under the presidency.
Mbadi Warns Against Domestic Borrowing
Mbadi also defended the government’s borrowing plans outlined in the Sh4.8 trillion budget, even as critics warned that domestic borrowing could crowd out private sector lending.
“It is not just about State House. We have state lodges; we have the presidency, and under the presidency, there is a lot. If the government is not careful and borrows more from the domestic market, chances are that it can easily crowd out the private sector,” he said.
He maintained that the government assessed the economy and concluded that the domestic capital market has enough liquidity to absorb the planned borrowing without affecting credit to businesses.
“We have done our analysis and assessment of our economy. We have a very robust capital market and a very liquid domestic market. That does not mean we should be reckless in borrowing from the domestic market, but we have a very liquid capital market,” Mbadi said.
Mbadi further dismissed the opposition’s alternative budget proposals, arguing that they only rearranged figures from the government’s budget rather than offering a genuinely workable alternative.
“They simply picked my figures, removed here and there, and added here and there. That is not really a budget. A budget is something you sit and think through, do simulations, and come up with alternative views,” he said.
