The President, who is under pressure from a section of Kenyans agitating for reforms, said the measures to reduce expenditure would start with his office and extend to the entire Executive arm of government.
"The budgetary provisions for confidential budgets in various Executive offices, including my office, shall be removed,"Ruto announced on Friday alongside other radical measures, including cutting down the number of advisors by 50 per cent.
A cursory look at the estimates for the current financial year paints a picture of the billions of shillings that are allocated to the vote - which is rarely audited.
The top offices – President, Deputy President, Prime Cabinet Secretary, a handful of state departments and the police alone - were allocated more than Sh15 billion this financial year.
The amount, which is usually paid out as petty cash for running the offices and for unspecified operations, could be higher.
The budgets are allocated as ‘other operating expenses’ and most often tower above the defined vote heads like hospitality, travel, and at times salaries for staff.
President Ruto and DP Rigathi Gachagua’s offices have the highest allocations at about Sh2.5 billion and Sh1 billion respectively in the current fiscal year.
For the President’s office, State House accounted for the highest single vote at Sh1.44 billion, while the rest – adding to more than Sh1 billion - is in respect of the offices under the Executive Office of the President.
They include the office of the spokesperson, which has been allocated Sh32.5 million, Sh210 million for tribunals and commissions of inquiry, and Sh200 million for multi-agency security initiatives.
The budget also includes Sh450 million for counterterrorism, Sh57 million for the headquarters and Sh94 million for the blue economy department.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has on many occasions – recently in the case of NHIF - cast doubt on the spending from the confidential votes.
This was after NHIF managers failed to explain how they spent Sh2.5 billion, which was characterised as other expenses.
In this case, the audit revealed there were no details of the activities carried out, items procured, number of recipients, and the nature of services rendered and who was paid.
Gathungu said the accuracy and completeness of the expenses could not be confirmed, a situation which cuts across the board.
Treasury data (estimates for the current financial year) shows that the office of the First Lady was allocated Sh23 million, the same amount as last year.
Deputy President’s spouse Dorcas Gachagua, has, however, not received any confidential vote this year, but got Sh20 million in the just-concluded fiscal year.
The office’s affirmative action programmes were provided with a confidential vote of Sh15 million, from Sh20 million that was allocated in the last financial year.
Gachagua’s office allocation of Sh1 billion in the confidential vote is an increase of Sh200 million, the office having received Sh800 million last year.
During the budget review, the Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro-led National Assembly’s Budget committee, however, slashed Gachagua’s confidential vote by Sh500 million.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s office was allocated Sh161 million, a drop from the Sh173 million the office received in the just-ended financial year.
The allocations are besides Sh60 million set aside for the headquarters of the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Sh8 million for the department coordinating projects by ministries.
Speakers of Parliament, clerks of the Houses, and several House leaders were also provided with budgets of varied amounts, the lowest being about Sh18 million.
The State Law Office has two such votes, one under headquarters of Sh33.5 million and another under the Litigation Department of Sh300 million.
MPs have for long demanded accountability of secret accounts held by State House and other security agencies, citing possible abuse of the votes.
“Best practice outside Kenya is that a few legislators are vetted by the intelligence agencies —in our case the National Intelligence Service - to access details of the vote,” Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu said.
Former Auditor General Edward Ouko during his tenure decried the challenges with accessing the confidential votes for audit.
At State House, several departments have been assigned the secret votes - including advisers – totalling more than Sh80 million.
Figureheads in the security sector also operate with substantial confidential budgets, including the Inspector General of Police who was allocated Sh180 million.
Offices of deputy inspectors general of police were allocated the budgets to the tune of Sh343 million for DIG Administration Police and Sh1.28 billion for DIG Kenya Police Services.
The Office of the President was provided Sh2.6 billion (to be managed by the Interior Ministry), albeit a reduction from Sh3.8 billion it received last year.
This is besides budgets for multi-security agency operations of Sh900 million and Sh800 million characterised as other operation expenses for the Kenya Coast Guard.
County commissioners on their part will control up to Sh2 billion if the budgets are retained as allocated by National Treasury in the estimates.
Another big beneficiary is the National Police Reserves Unit, which was provided Sh916 million for non-specified expenditures.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the records show, has a vote of Sh1.4 billion, besides Sh307 million for the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit.
For the state departments, budget books show that the Defence ministry was allocated Sh106 million, Sh218 million to Foreign Affairs, and Sh84 million to the National Treasury.
The State Department of Housing was provided Sh128 million, a leap from Sh5 million the department received last year.
The Medical Services department got Sh95 million whereas Public Works got Sh42 million, Sh15 million for Water, Lands (Sh48 million), Basic Education (Sh27 million), and Sh28 million for TVETs.
Regulations on the spending of national government budgets set stringent thresholds for expenses classified as confidential.
They provide that secret votes be only characterised as such if they are likely to prejudice the security, defence or international relations of the government.
It is also only allowed if it is likely to involve the disclosure of confidential deliberations or decisions of the Cabinet or a committee of the Cabinet.
Secret budgets are allowed when they are likely to divulge any confidential information communicated in confidence by government agencies and which would prejudice national security or relations between the two levels of government.
Votes are also only allowed where they would unfairly prejudice the commercial interests of anybody or are likely to form the basis for a claim by a foreign state or persons in the government in a judicial proceeding.
“The accounting officer shall be required under a closed-door session to disclose to a special or joint committee of Parliament and the President information or any other document on the nature of confidential expenditure under this regulation,” the rules read.
