Members of Parliament have proposed that the government buy one building to house constitutional commissions and independent offices, after the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) disclosed that it spends more than Sh3.2 million every month on rented premises.

The idea was floated by the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning during a review of how state agencies used their budgets in the 2025/26 financial year.

Rent bill under scrutiny

The CRA told the committee it pays about Sh3.225 million a month in rent and service charges, which adds up to more than Sh38.7 million a year. Committee chairperson Kuria Kimani singled out the Sh700,000 paid monthly in service charges alone.

"We don't think this is a very prudent use of public resources. Why should the Commission spend Ksh700,000 on service charge alone yet these are not premises that commission staff live in?" Kimani asked.

He suggested a task force to identify a suitable building that could accommodate several commissions and independent offices, so that taxpayers stop paying separate rents to private landlords. The proposal is still at discussion stage and would require an assessment of the purchase cost against the long-term savings.

How the CRA used its money

The commission, chaired by Mary Wanyonyi, reported spending Sh452.5 million of its approved Sh488.2 million budget, an absorption rate of 92.7 per cent. It attributed the unspent Sh35.7 million mainly to savings on staff costs and said fiscal constraints had slowed some planned activities. It also reported clean audit opinions on its main accounts for 2024/25.

Controller of Budget wants more money

In a separate session, the Office of the Controller of Budget (OCoB) asked MPs for a bigger allocation to strengthen its monitoring and evaluation role. The office said it spent Sh933.09 million of its Sh948.09 million budget, a 98 per cent absorption rate, but that the Treasury approved only Sh28.2 million of the Sh65 million it sought to reallocate.

  • The OCoB reported a Sh4.42 million bill, unpaid for more than 90 days, arising from a KRA tax assessment on staff gratuity.
  • A further Sh9.25 million owed to suppliers is to be settled in the 2026/27 financial year.

Kimani also asked the Controller of Budget to give the committee a list of counties sitting on idle bank balances and the steps being taken to deal with them. Committee member Julius Rutto urged the office to keep a close watch on counties relying on bank overdrafts, warning that interest costs could worsen delays in paying salaries.

Photos: Jorge Láscar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Citizen Digital (file). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.