The office of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is set to get some Sh. 2.6 billion in the upcoming budget. According to a report that appeared in the Daily Nation on Thursday, Gachagua will renovate his official Karen home and his Harambee Annex office with some Sh. 1.1 billion. Out of this figure, some Sh. 460 million will be used to refurbish his Harambee Annex offices while another Sh. 660 million will be used at his Karen home.
In the same budget, Gachagua has an allocation of Sh. 800 million for what has been termed as confidential expenditure, Sh. 250 million for “fighting” drug abuse, Sh. 250 million for the purchase of medals and insignias, and Sh. 200 million for the purchase of motor vehicles.
Gachagua is also set to get some Sh. 2.5 million for the purchase of household appliances, Sh. 37.5 million for the purchase of office furniture and fittings, and Sh. 2 million for the purchase of educational aids and related equipment.
The controversial budget also contains allocations for Gachagua’s ICT networking and communication equipment at Sh. 87 million, Sh. 2.1 million for laundry expenses, Sh. 5 million for counseling services, Sh. 56 million for travel allowances, Sh. 91 million for accommodation, Sh. 17 million for entertainment allowance, Sh. 520,000 for cooking gas expenses, and Sh. 10 million for internet connectivity. The office has already spent some Sh. 250 million on what it terms as the “fight” against alcoholism.
An earlier report that was tabled in Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury Professor Njuguna Ndung’u indicated that the office of Gachagua’s wife Dorcas Gachagua would get Sh. 557.5 million. This office’s budget was more than doubled through a mini budget that was tabled in the National Assembly in October 2023.
Rachel Ruto, Dorcas Gachagua offices to get Sh. 1.2 billion in new budget
This report by the Treasury CS also showed that Rachel Ruto’s office would get a 17.3 per cent increase in allocation to Sh. 696.6 million in the financial year starting July 2024, meaning that Dorcas and Rachel’s offices will get a whopping Sh. 1.2 billion in the new budget.
