Nairobi — Kenya’s National Treasury has proposed a record Sh5.416 trillion national budget for the 2027/28 financial year, the first time the country’s spending plan is set to exceed the Sh5 trillion mark.
The figure, contained in the Draft 2027 Budget Policy Statement, represents 23.6 percent of gross domestic product and is higher than the Sh4.82 trillion approved for the current 2026/27 financial year. It also exceeds the Sh5.323 trillion projection contained in the Draft Budget Review and Outlook Paper released two months earlier. Kenya-today
Recurrent expenditure is projected at Sh4.021 trillion, or 17.5 percent of GDP—the first time it has crossed the Sh4 trillion threshold. This covers salaries, operations, debt service, and other routine obligations. Development spending has been revised downward to Sh915.8 billion from an earlier estimate of Sh958 billion, reflecting tighter allocations for infrastructure and investment programs. Transfers to county governments are projected at about Sh473.5 billion, with Sh5 billion set aside for the Contingency Fund. Pulse
The Treasury forecasts total revenue, including Appropriation-in-Aid, at Sh4.004 trillion (17.4 percent of GDP). Ordinary revenue is projected at Sh3.249 trillion. The resulting fiscal deficit stands at Sh1.353 trillion, or 5.9 percent of GDP, wider than the earlier projection of Sh1.321 trillion (5.7 percent of GDP). X
To finance the shortfall, the government plans net domestic borrowing of Sh929.1 billion and net external borrowing of Sh423.8 billion. The Treasury says the strategy aims to moderate the pace of debt accumulation while protecting essential services, with the deficit projected to narrow gradually to 4.9 percent of GDP by 2030/31. Intellinews
The proposals remain aligned with Kenya Vision 2030, the Fourth Medium-Term Plan, and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. Priority areas include agriculture, affordable housing, universal healthcare, support for micro, small, and medium enterprises, and the digital superhighway. Kenyanews
The National Treasury has invited public comments on the draft and is expected to submit the Budget Policy Statement to Parliament by mid-November 2026 under a revised calendar that accommodates the August 2027 General Election. The figures are estimates and may change as the budget process advances through stakeholder consultations and parliamentary scrutiny. Pulse
The proposed spending plan continues a multi-year expansion of the national budget amid ongoing efforts to strengthen revenue collection and manage rising debt-service costs.