Okoa Uchumi,Kenya’s 2025/26 Budget Under Fire for Favouring the Elite Amid Deepening Crisis
In a joint a press statement,Civil Societies and Human Rights Organizations under the umbrella of the Okoa Uchumi Campaign has raised the alarm over Kenya’s proposed 2025/26 national budget, warning that the fiscal plan entrenches inequality and deepens the economic crisis for ordinary citizens.
As Treasury prepares to table the KSh 4.24 trillion budget next week against expected revenue of KSh 3.32 trillion and a staggering deficit of KSh 876.1 billion the coalition argues that the country is on an unsustainable path, with public debt already surpassing KSh 11.35 trillion.
Although the Finance Bill 2025 is framed as a revenue-boosting measure through tax reforms, watchdogs say it conceals a deeper problem: bloated, duplicative, and misaligned spending that fails to address the needs of the majority.Among the most controversial proposals is a tenfold increase in tax-exempt per diem allowances from KSh 2,000 to KSh 10,000 primarily benefiting senior government officials.
In contrast, informal workers and low-income earners are left with little to no relief. The Bill also seeks to repeal Section 59A(1B) of the Tax Procedures Act, a move critics warn could grant the Kenya Revenue Authority unfettered access to private financial data without judicial oversight.
Additionally, essential items such as solar panels, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and electric vehicles would be removed from the VAT zero-rated list potentially raising consumer costs and undermining progress on health, climate, and energy goals.
“This budget punishes the many to protect the privileged,” said Okoa Uchumi in a statement to Parliament. “We cannot tax our way out of this crisis. We must cut waste and reallocate spending toward services that matter.”Social sectors are already suffering.
The free primary education program faces a KSh 4.3 billion cut, and school feeding programs are set to shrink, even amid increasing enrollment. Meanwhile, allocations to the police and the Executive Office are set to rise significantly raising fears of escalating securitization and shrinking civic space.
Debt repayment is the largest single expenditure item, consuming nearly 49 percent of the total budget. Analysts caution that if fiscal tightening continues to target essential public services while shielding elite privileges, the social and economic fallout could be severe.
Okoa Uchumi is urging Parliament to reject regressive tax measures and instead advocate for a people-centered budget. “Kenya’s future depends not just on what we collect, but how we spend it,” the coalition emphasized.
As parliamentary debate begins, the stakes go far beyond the numbers they strike at the heart of Kenya’s democratic and economic future.
