The Budget Division falls within the Financial Resources Management Programme in the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The other constituents of the programme are Financial Management Division, Public Enterprise Division, and the Department of Accountant General. The mandate of the Programme is to manage the budget and administer policies which foster sound financial management in the public sector.

The Division’s prime responsibility is to prepare the annual Budget which is the quantitative expression of the economic and social policies, the priorities and programmes of Government. The budget is influenced and shaped by the country’s macro economic framework and must be consistent with the policies and objectives relating to economic growth, generation of employment, inflation expectations, monetary policy, trade policy, exchange rate stability, and resource allocation between public and private sector.

The Budget Division has the responsibility of ensuring that: -

• the Estimates of Expenditure are prepared in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework;
• the financial resources of the government are allocated in the most efficient manner and on a basis that reflects the Government’s priorities and objectives while maximizing the relationship between cost and benefit.

The specific functions undertaken by the Budget Division are to: -

• recommend the allocation levels between sector Ministries on the basis of identified resources;
• examine, evaluate and make recommendations in regard to expenditure proposals from Ministries and Agencies;
• prepare the annual Estimates of Expenditure (and Supplementary Estimates) for presentation to the House of Representatives;
• monitor the implementation of Estimates of Expenditure and ensure that resources are being appropriately utilized towards the objectives set by the House of Representatives;
• develop and monitor the Medium Term Public Sector Investment Programme which lists the developmental expenditure that the government intends to implement over a 3-year period; and
• manage the public sector cash flows through the release of funds within the legal requirements of the Warrant process.

To facilitate the above functions the division is divided into two main branches –

The Cash Management Branch which has responsibility for managing the cash resources of government to ensure that cash outflows are kept within the limits of available resources; and that essential services and priority activities receive sufficient funds to maintain operations at appropriate levels.  This involves monitoring on a daily basis expenditure reports from the Accountant General by:

• maintaining necessary records
• applying the tools of financial analysis to establish expenditure trends
• indentifying and analyzing the causes of all variations
• adopting timely corrective action to cope with variations fromthe budgeted expenditure

The Expenditure Analysis Branch which manages the preparation of the annual estimates of expenditure which entails allocating resources through the Budget instrument to expenditure programmes based on priority and rankings which reflect the government’s policy/strategy and the attainment of value for money. The Branch is responsible for recommending global resource allocation for programmes of sector Ministries and their related institutions. The branch is sub-divided into 5 units as follows:

1. Human Resources Unit which has responsibility for the budget programmes and activities of:

• Ministry of Education and Culture;
• Ministry of Health;
• Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Sport;

2. Machinery of State Unit which has responsibility for the budget programmes and activities of:

• Office of the Prime Minister;
• Office of the Cabinet;
• Ministry of Finance and Planning;
• Ministry of National Security and Justice;
• Unattached Departments;

3. The Production Unit which has responsibility for the budget programmes and activities of:

• Ministry of Agriculture;
• Ministry of Industry of Commerce and Technology;
• Ministry of Industry and Tourism;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

4. Physical Infrastructure Unit which has responsibility for the budget programmes and activities of:

• Ministry of Water and Housing;
• Ministry of Land and Environment;
• Ministry Transport and Works;
• Ministry of Local Government, Community Development and Sports;

5. Public Sector Investment Programme Unit which is responsible for developing the Medium Term Investment Plan which is an instrument of economic management to ensure that macro-economic and sector strategies of the government are translated into programmes and projects. It provides the framework within which the preparation, implementation and monitoring of projects can occur. It is the background document for the preparation of capital budget.

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