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Finance & Markets · Africa

Kenya’s proposed 2027/28 budget sets recurrent spending at Sh4.021 trillion

Kenya’s National Treasury has set proposed recurrent spending for the 2027/28 financial year at KSh 4.021 trillion. The proposed total budget is KSh 5.416 trillion, while the projected deficit is KSh 1.353 trillion, or 5.9 percent of GDP.

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What happened

Key facts

  • Kenya’s National Treasury released updated figures for the 2027/28 financial year (per dawan.africa).
  • The proposed 2027/28 budget totals KSh 5.416 trillion, or 23.6 percent of GDP, up from KSh 5.323 trillion in the earlier Draft Budget Review and Outlook Paper (per dawan.africa).
  • Proposed recurrent spending reaches KSh 4.021 trillion, topping KSh 4 trillion (per dawan.africa).
  • Proposed development spending was revised down from KSh 958 billion to KSh 915.8 billion (per dawan.africa).
  • Total revenue is projected at KSh 4.004 trillion (per dawan.africa).
  • Ordinary revenue is projected at KSh 3.249 trillion (per dawan.africa).
  • The projected deficit is KSh 1.353 trillion, or 5.9 percent of GDP (per dawan.africa).
  • Domestic borrowing is projected at KSh 929.1 billion, down from KSh 1.085 trillion (per dawan.africa).

The brief

Kenya’s National Treasury has put proposed recurrent expenditure for the 2027/28 financial year at KSh 4.021 trillion, taking this budget category above KSh 4 trillion for the first time, according to dawan.africa. The updated proposal places the overall budget at KSh 5.416 trillion, equivalent to 23.6 percent of GDP.

The total is higher than the KSh 5.323 trillion projected in the earlier Draft Budget Review and Outlook Paper. The Treasury’s updated figures also revise the balance between recurrent and development spending: development expenditure is now projected at KSh 915.8 billion, down from KSh 958 billion. The revenue projection stands at KSh 4.004 trillion.

Ordinary revenue accounts for a projected KSh 3.249 trillion. Despite the updated revenue figures, the proposed budget leaves a projected deficit of KSh 1.353 trillion, equal to 5.9 percent of GDP, dawan.africa reported. The Treasury’s proposed financing mix has shifted from the earlier figures.

Domestic borrowing is projected at KSh 929.1 billion, compared with KSh 1.085 trillion previously. External borrowing is projected at KSh 423.8 billion, nearly twice the earlier projection of KSh 235.9 billion. These figures describe the government’s proposal for the 2027/28 financial year; they are not presented as final spending or revenue outcomes.

The updated estimates bring together the proposed total, spending allocations, revenue projections and borrowing plans, while retaining a deficit of more than KSh 1 trillion. Capital FM Africa also reported in its headline that recurrent spending in the new budget plan tops Sh4 trillion. Its headline does not provide additional figures or details beyond that point.

The account from dawan.africa identifies the revised spending and financing estimates, including the lower development allocation and the changed domestic and external borrowing projections.

Why it matters

  • The proposed KSh 4.021 trillion recurrent allocation is the budget’s largest spending figure reported here and exceeds KSh 4 trillion.
  • The proposed KSh 915.8 billion for development spending is lower than the earlier KSh 958 billion projection.
  • The KSh 1.353 trillion projected deficit is 5.9 percent of GDP, despite projected total revenue of KSh 4.004 trillion.
  • The financing plan shifts between borrowing sources: domestic borrowing is projected at KSh 929.1 billion, while external borrowing is projected at KSh 423.8 billion.

What to watch next

  • Whether the National Treasury changes the proposed KSh 4.021 trillion recurrent spending figure.
  • Whether the KSh 915.8 billion development spending projection changes from the earlier KSh 958 billion figure.
  • Whether the proposed KSh 929.1 billion domestic borrowing and KSh 423.8 billion external borrowing projections are revised.
  • Whether the projected KSh 1.353 trillion deficit, or 5.9 percent of GDP, changes.

How it's being covered

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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Kenya promulgated a new Constitution that established county governments and set principles for public finance.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Kenya enacted the Public Finance Management Act, setting rules for public budgeting and fiscal responsibility.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Kenya enacted the Finance Act 2022, setting tax measures for the national budget.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Kenya enacted the Finance Act 2023, setting tax measures for the national budget.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. President William Ruto announced that he would not sign the Finance Bill 2024 and that it would be withdrawn.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Kenya enacted the Finance Act 2025, setting tax measures for the national budget.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The earlier Draft Budget Review and Outlook Paper for 2027/28 set a lower overall spending projection than the National Treasury’s subsequent revision, making that paper the immediate baseline for comparison. Kenya’s medium-term budget projections are prepared within a public-finance system established by the 2010 Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

Article 201 of the Constitution sets principles for public finance, including openness, accountability and prudent use of public money. Article 221 requires the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to submit national-government budget estimates to the National Assembly, which must consider and approve them before the financial year begins on July 1.

Original sources

2 articles from 2 outlets

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