Mini Chamber, Monday, February 24, 2025 – The Parliamentary Security Committee has raised concerns over underfunding that threatens to impede the effective delivery of critical government services in Kenya, particularly within the State Departments for Internal Security and National Administration, and Immigration and Citizen Services.
During a meeting on the 2025/26 budget, lawmakers heard that the State Department for Internal Security faces a shortfall of Ksh. 16.4 billion in recurrent expenditure and Ksh. 5.1 billion in development expenditure. Ms. Anne Ngetich, the Principal Administrative Secretary for the department, revealed that the department’s cumulative resource requirement stands at Ksh. 59 billion, yet the allocated budget from the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) is only Ksh. 37.5 billion.
“The shortfall will significantly impact our ability to deliver services effectively, from ongoing security operations to critical projects across counties,” Ms. Ngetich warned.
The department, which had proposed 60 projects for FY 2025/26, will now only implement 24, with some projects being deferred to the medium-term period. This includes priority areas such as the coordination of security operations, training 8,600 officers, equipping sub-county headquarters with ICT infrastructure, and enhancing disaster response capabilities.
A key concern raised during the meeting was the gazetting of numerous administrative units without the necessary resources for their operationalization. In response, the department confirmed that lack of funds had hindered this process and promised not to gazette any more administrative units until the existing ones were fully operationalized.
The Committee also heard from Prof. Julius Bitok, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, who presented a budget proposal of Ksh. 20.5 billion for FY 2025/26. Prof. Bitok highlighted the department's significant achievements, including the issuance of over 300,000 passports, registering millions of births, and issuing over 1 million Maisha cards. Despite these successes, he appealed to the Committee for adequate funding to continue meeting the growing demands for immigration and citizen services.
The Committee is now tasked with preparing a report for the Liaison Committee, with lawmakers expected to push for adjustments to ensure both departments are adequately funded to meet their national obligations.
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