CS Mbadi grilled by the Senate

Parliament Buildings
Wednesday, 4th June 2025

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Hon John Mbadi, EGH, appeared before the Senate plenary today to respond to questions from Senator Prof. Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Senator Enoch Wambua (Kitui) and Senator Karen Nyamu (Nominated). His responses covered urgent reforms in pension processing, strategies to manage Kenya’s fiscal deficit, and county government funding constraints.

On the issue of delays in pension claims raised by Senator Prof. Tom Ojienda, CS Mbadi assured the House that the National Treasury is fully committed to ensuring retirees receive their pensions timely, efficiently and transparently. He explained that the government has undertaken a comprehensive review of the pension administration process to identify bottlenecks, noting that delays often arise due to late submission of retirement notices by employers, incomplete documentation, disputes or litigation. To address these challenges, the Treasury has deployed pension officers to key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), strictly enforced early submission policies requiring pension claims nine months before retirement and upgraded the Pensions Management Information System (PMIS) for enhanced efficiency and data security.

CS Mbadi highlighted the Cabinet’s approval of the National Retirement Benefits Policy in November 2023, which aims to harmonise retirement benefits, improve governance and ensure sustainability of pension payments. He further detailed ongoing digitization efforts, including the development of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to enable online claim submissions, a self-service portal for pensioners, automated approvals and real-time verification through integration with government databases. Additional measures include biometric pension verification linked to e-wallets, expansion of pension services to Huduma Centres to reduce bureaucracy and enhanced collaboration with investigative agencies and financial institutions to prevent fraud and unauthorized withdrawals.

On fiscal management, responding to Senator Karen Nyamu’s question on strategies to manage Kenya’s fiscal deficit and county funding constraints, CS Mbadi outlined a multi-pronged government approach focusing on robust revenue generation and sustainable expenditure control. He noted that the fiscal deficit for FY 2025/26 is projected at Ksh 831 billion (4.3% of GDP), down from 4.9% in the previous fiscal year, financed through a combination of external and domestic borrowing. The government’s fiscal consolidation plan targets further reduction to 2.7% of GDP over the medium term by rationalizing expenditure, strengthening tax administration, expanding the tax base, and leveraging technology to improve compliance.

CS Mbadi also emphasised the importance of protecting vulnerable populations amidst these reforms while enhancing transparency and accountability in public financial management. Initiatives include rolling out end-to-end procurement systems to maximize value for money, automating public investment management, transitioning to accrual-based accounting, and scaling up public-private partnerships to improve service delivery. He confirmed piloting a new Human Resource Management System to better manage the wage bill across national and county governments.

Regarding county government funding, CS Mbadi reiterated the National Treasury’s commitment to promoting transparency by encouraging counties to make financial information publicly accessible. He highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems and foster partnerships between the National Government and counties through regular dialogue with the Council of Governors. Collaborative projects such as the County Agricultural Investment Projects (CAIPs) and County Health Projects (CHPs) continue to receive support to enhance development outcomes.

He reaffirmed the government’s determination to reform pension administration and fiscal management frameworks to deliver efficient, transparent services to citizens while safeguarding economic stability and sustainable growth.