Ministry of Defence requests Sh40.7bn budget boost

The Ministry of Defence has appealed for an urgent Sh40.7 billion boost to its 2024/2025 budget to recruit new personnel and settle mounting pending bills, warning that failure to do so within the next seven weeks could disrupt military operations.

Out of the Sh204.5 billion originally requested, the Ministry received Sh163.5 billion.

The Defence team told the National Assembly's Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations that this allocation left critical areas underfunded.

Specifically, Sh2 billion is needed for recruitment, Sh1 billion for maintenance of key assets, another Sh1 billion for the Kenya Space Agency and Kenya Shipyard Ltd, and Sh3.7 billion to offset pending bills.

Appearing before the committee on Monday, Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru and Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lieutenant General John Omenda said timely recruitment is crucial to maintaining operational readiness.

"Recruitment has been very irregular recently. We cannot overemphasise its importance. Failure to recruit for another year would create significant challenges," said Mariru.

The committee heard that recruitment must be done before December to avoid a widening personnel gap, which the officials warned could destabilise structures such as seniority systems and the promotion cycle.

Omenda pointed to past gaps in enlistment, including the periods between 1992-1997 and 1998-2000, which continue to affect current operations.

"We normally have two intakes, and you find that we always have a big gap when we do not, especially on age," Omenda said.

"Recruitment is very important because it will enable us also to replace [retiring] soldiers."

On the financial strain facing the ministry, Omenda said the pending bills have now reached Sh21.5 billion, accumulated over four years.

"When you close your year with pending bills, you get a budget cut because you will be forced to spend the allocation you get to first settle the bill, as they form a first charge," he said.

The committee questioned the cost of the recruitment process, with Shinyalu MP Fredrick Ikana calling for clarity on the Sh2 billion allocation.

Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchori requested a detailed breakdown of what each recruit is expected to consume during the nine-month training period.