Key Budget Dates for FY2023/24 and the Medium-Term Budget Preparation Process
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By: Raphael Muya,
Article 201 of the constitution of Kenya 2010, and the Public Finance Management Act 35(2) requires public participation on all public finance matters. Public participation and involvement of citizens individually or in associations in the budget making process is a core requirement with Sector Working Groups providing an avenue for that engagement in the development of sector priorities. In the development of the draft budget estimates for the any particular fiscal year, the Sector Working Groups review the sector budget priorities with the view of informing decisions on priorities and taking into account the available resources.
The Public Finance Management (PFM) Act,2012 section 125 – 137 and Section 207 provides more details on the existing opportunities for public participation in the budget formulation in addition to the constitution itself. This is significant because citizens can share their proposals of the key sectors of the economy when the budget is being formulated. The members of public can share comments on the overall direction the budget is taking before the formulation is completed and should have the opportunities to engage with all the envisaged stakeholders as acknowledged by the PFM Act. In essence, these rules reinforce rights of citizenship by creating opportunities for public reasoning on government’s fiscal priorities.
The launch of the preparation of the budget for the Financial Year starting on 1st July 2023 was communicated on 20thNovember 2022 by the National Treasury. The issues cited for the delay of the launch were effects of 2022 general elections occasioned by the transition to the new administration. However, it is important to note that budget preparation involves timely preparation of key budget documents for approval as required by the constitution and the PFM Act. To facilitate timely finalization and approval of the key budget documents and the bills, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and citizens and interest groups will be required to fast track schedules of the activities as provided in the revised budget calendar.
Public Participation for Budget FY 2022/2023
Indeed, with the required timely submission of budget documents in the condensed calendar, Sector Working Groups are required to document stakeholder engagements and attach evidence of the those deliberations in an annexure to the sector reports to comply with public participation requirements. Since Sector Working Groups are recognized as the avenue for resource bidding and are responsible for formulation and prioritization of sector budget proposal, this offers an extremely important opportunity for Kenyan citizens and interest groups to participate in the formulation of the budget. It is also important to note that no expenditure proposals from the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) are factored in the budget unless approved and considered by the sector working group.
Through a public notice, the National Treasury seeks to ensure openness and accountability in fiscal policy matters as required by Article 201 (a) by the requesting for budget submissions from MDAs, private sector, non-governmental organizations and members of the public on tax policy and measures to encourage economic development. This again presents a constitutionally protected avenue through which individuals or groups can directly share budget proposals for consideration by all arms of government.
The IEA-Kenya through annual pre-budget forums provides a complementary avenue for deepening participation in budget planning budget processes for the public sector. Through these hearings, diverse groups and individuals in the corporate and non-profit sector present proposals covering expenditure, regulatory or tax policies which are consolidated into a Citizen’s Alternative Budget.The time frame for sharing this views for FY 2023/24 is in the month of December 2022 and up to February 2023.
Finally, the budget preparation process is guided by strict legal timelines and the citizens wishing to participate are expected to adhere to the calendar. Table 1.0 below shows the applicable key dates for the financial year staring in 1st July 2023 and is therefore a useful guide for citizen participation in the budget processes.
Table 1.0: Key budget dates for financial year 2023/2024
| Key date | |
| Updating and reviewing Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) strategic plans | 21st September 2022 |
| Programmes performance review | 21st September 2022 |
| Draft budget review and outlook paper | 30th September 2022 |
| Submission of Taxation proposal | 16th December 2022 |
| Preparation of sector budget proposals | 21st November to 10th December2022 |
| Draft budget policy statement | 23rd December 2022 |
| Public Hearings | 10th to 12th January 2023 |
| Review and submission of sector budget proposals | 18th Janaury 2023 |
| Submission of budget policy statement to parliament | 14th February 2023 |
| Sharing comments on supplementary budget FY 2022/2023 deadline | 17th February 2023 |
| Approval of budget policy statement | 28th February 2023 |
| Guidelines on Ministerial budget finalization | 3rd March 2023 |
| Consolidation of budget estimates | 12th April 2023 |
| Submission of draft budget estimates to the National Assembly | 27th April 2023 |
| Budget statement | 8th June 2023 |
| Approval of Appropriation bill | 30th June 2023 |
Source: National Treasury
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Key Budget Dates for FY2023/24 and the Medium-Term Budget Preparation Process
| Post date: Wed, Mar 8, 2023 |
| Category: |
| By: Raphael Muya, |
Article 201 of the constitution of Kenya 2010, and the Public Finance Management Act 35(2) requires public participation on all public finance matters. Public participation and involvement of citizens individually or in associations in the budget making process is a core requirement with Sector Working Groups providing an avenue for that engagement in the development of sector priorities. In the development of the draft budget estimates for the any particular fiscal year, the Sector Working Groups review the sector budget priorities with the view of informing decisions on priorities and taking into account the available resources.
The Public Finance Management (PFM) Act,2012 section 125 – 137 and Section 207 provides more details on the existing opportunities for public participation in the budget formulation in addition to the constitution itself. This is significant because citizens can share their proposals of the key sectors of the economy when the budget is being formulated. The members of public can share comments on the overall direction the budget is taking before the formulation is completed and should have the opportunities to engage with all the envisaged stakeholders as acknowledged by the PFM Act. In essence, these rules reinforce rights of citizenship by creating opportunities for public reasoning on government’s fiscal priorities.
The launch of the preparation of the budget for the Financial Year starting on 1st July 2023 was communicated on 20thNovember 2022 by the National Treasury. The issues cited for the delay of the launch were effects of 2022 general elections occasioned by the transition to the new administration. However, it is important to note that budget preparation involves timely preparation of key budget documents for approval as required by the constitution and the PFM Act. To facilitate timely finalization and approval of the key budget documents and the bills, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and citizens and interest groups will be required to fast track schedules of the activities as provided in the revised budget calendar.
Public Participation for Budget FY 2022/2023
Indeed, with the required timely submission of budget documents in the condensed calendar, Sector Working Groups are required to document stakeholder engagements and attach evidence of the those deliberations in an annexure to the sector reports to comply with public participation requirements. Since Sector Working Groups are recognized as the avenue for resource bidding and are responsible for formulation and prioritization of sector budget proposal, this offers an extremely important opportunity for Kenyan citizens and interest groups to participate in the formulation of the budget. It is also important to note that no expenditure proposals from the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) are factored in the budget unless approved and considered by the sector working group.
Through a public notice, the National Treasury seeks to ensure openness and accountability in fiscal policy matters as required by Article 201 (a) by the requesting for budget submissions from MDAs, private sector, non-governmental organizations and members of the public on tax policy and measures to encourage economic development. This again presents a constitutionally protected avenue through which individuals or groups can directly share budget proposals for consideration by all arms of government.
The IEA-Kenya through annual pre-budget forums provides a complementary avenue for deepening participation in budget planning budget processes for the public sector. Through these hearings, diverse groups and individuals in the corporate and non-profit sector present proposals covering expenditure, regulatory or tax policies which are consolidated into a Citizen’s Alternative Budget.The time frame for sharing this views for FY 2023/24 is in the month of December 2022 and up to February 2023.
Finally, the budget preparation process is guided by strict legal timelines and the citizens wishing to participate are expected to adhere to the calendar. Table 1.0 below shows the applicable key dates for the financial year staring in 1st July 2023 and is therefore a useful guide for citizen participation in the budget processes.
Table 1.0: Key budget dates for financial year 2023/2024
| Key date | |
| Updating and reviewing Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) strategic plans | 21st September 2022 |
| Programmes performance review | 21st September 2022 |
| Draft budget review and outlook paper | 30th September 2022 |
| Submission of Taxation proposal | 16th December 2022 |
| Preparation of sector budget proposals | 21st November to 10th December2022 |
| Draft budget policy statement | 23rd December 2022 |
| Public Hearings | 10th to 12th January 2023 |
| Review and submission of sector budget proposals | 18th Janaury 2023 |
| Submission of budget policy statement to parliament | 14th February 2023 |
| Sharing comments on supplementary budget FY 2022/2023 deadline | 17th February 2023 |
| Approval of budget policy statement | 28th February 2023 |
| Guidelines on Ministerial budget finalization | 3rd March 2023 |
| Consolidation of budget estimates | 12th April 2023 |
| Submission of draft budget estimates to the National Assembly | 27th April 2023 |
| Budget statement | 8th June 2023 |
| Approval of Appropriation bill | 30th June 2023 |
Source: National Treasury
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