Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s bid to secure Sh280 million for refurbishing his office is facing mounting resistance in Parliament, with lawmakers questioning both the timing and necessity of the expenditure amid growing calls for government austerity.
The proposal came under scrutiny when the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary (OPCS) appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security to defend its request under Supplementary Estimates I for the 2025/26 financial year.
Joash Dache, the Principal Administrative Secretary in the OPCS, told the committee that the funding was informed by security concerns flagged by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
However, the request runs counter to earlier recommendations by the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC), which had already advised against allocating additional funds to the office in the 2026 Budget Policy Statement (BPS).
The committee not only rejected the proposed refurbishment budget but also raised concerns over the logic of committing substantial public resources to upgrade a leased facility.
Despite this position, Dache maintained that the OPCS offices, currently housed within a rented space at the Kenya Railways headquarters, are in a dilapidated condition and require urgent intervention to meet expected standards.
“We inherited a condemned building. It is the responsibility of a landlord to ensure that premises are habitable,” he told the committee.
He added that the requested funds would also address security gaps identified in the NIS assessment.
But his argument was weakened by the absence of the intelligence report to support the claims, drawing sharp criticism from MPs who accused the office of misusing the supplementary budget process.
Saku MP Dido Rasso who is also the committee vice chair also questioned the urgency of the request, challenging its classification as an emergency expenditure.
“How does this qualify as an emergency for the taxpayer?” he posed.
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma termed the request an abuse of the supplementary budgeting framework, arguing that such expenditure should have been planned within the main budget. He warned that approving the allocation would inflate the OPCS budget by more than 70 percent.
The standoff comes as the OPCS is set to receive a proposed allocation of Sh827 million for recurrent expenditure in the 2026/27 financial year, with no provision made for capital spending.
Since 2023, when Mudavadiwho also serves as Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs assumed office, the OPCS has already spent a cumulative Sh363 million on renovations.
In its report on the 2026 BPS, which was adopted by the House earlier this month, the Budget and Appropriations Committee was categorical in its position, directing that no further public funds should be used for renovations or structural modifications of leased premises occupied by the OPCS.
It further recommended that the National Treasury cease financing such expenditures altogether.
Meanwhile, the Administration and Internal Security Committee, in its own review of the BPS, observed that the proposed budget ceiling for the OPCS appeared intended to restore funding for key operational areas such as compensation, rent, contracted services, and general administration, which had initially been underfunded.
However, the committee cautioned that the significant upward revision pointed to broader weaknesses in budget formulation and resource allocation within the executive, raising concerns about planning accuracy and fiscal discipline.
