Kenya budget dwarfs EAC partners

Hailed as the largest economy in the East African Community (EAC), Kenya has continued to demonstrate this with a budget dwarfing those of its neighbours.

At Ksh3.07 trillion, Kenya’s budget is larger than those of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda combined.

The three east African states will also be tabling their budgets today, a tradition dating back 11 years as part of the regional integration process.

Compared to Kenya, partner states will be presenting significantly modest financial spending plans.

Uganda will lead the pack with an estimated Ush30.9 trillion or an estimated Ksh800 billion.

Rwanda on the other hand will present a Rfr2.4 trillion or an estimated Ksh281 billion budget while neighboring Tanzania will present a Tsh32.4 trillion or an estimated Sh140 billion spending plan.

These budgets, the EAC secretariat challenging its member countries to align with key sectors driving growth

Interestingly, the overriding factor in these budgets will be spending on infrastructure. This seen as a panacea to fast track growth in the bloc.

However, the secretariat also says that corruption in the respective countries would need to be tamed for state spending to have impact on the lives of the residents.