Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has announced that the government will introduce a new Planning Bill in 2026 aimed at strengthening Kenya’s national planning and budgeting framework.
Speaking ahead of the 2026/27 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, Mbadi said the proposed law will address a critical gap in the country’s public finance architecture, formal legal structures governing national planning.
He said that while Kenya already has legislation on public finance management, procurement, and asset management, there is currently no standalone law guiding national planning.
“I have been a proponent of proper planning; the problem we have in our budget process is that we are not making plans to budget. We have laws governing public finance management, we have laws governing procurement, we have laws guiding asset management, but we don't have any law on national planning,” he said.
Mbadi noted that the absence of a dedicated planning framework has weakened coordination between policy priorities and budget implementation, leading to inefficiencies in resource allocation.
“That is a law that we are going to introduce this year so that we can have a proper plan. If you don’t plan well, you cannot have a good budget and a good financial plan,” he said.
The proposed Planning Bill 2026 is expected to formalise how national development priorities are set, aligned and monitored across government institutions, to improve discipline in public spending and ensure better alignment between long-term policy goals and annual budgets.
The announcement comes as the Treasury presents the 2026/27 budget, a Sh4.84 trillion fiscal plan that has already outlined increased spending commitments and a significant financing gap.
If enacted, the Planning Bill would add a new layer to Kenya’s public finance governance structure, complementing existing laws governing budgeting, procurement and expenditure management.
Mbadi defended the 2026-27 budget-making process, saying the government extensively consulted Kenyans and incorporated proposals from citizens, youth groups and various sectors before finalising the spending plan.
Mbadi said the National Treasury had gone beyond the minimum legal requirements to ensure public participation and transparency in budget preparation.
He said that since taking office in 2024, he had sought to demystify the Treasury by opening up the institution to greater public scrutiny and engagement.
"What is different is that we have tried as much as possible to live by the spirit of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act. What we are doing is to make sure that what is spelt out in law is actually done," Mbadi said.
"As I assumed office in 2024, I promised that we were going to demystify the National Treasury and open it up. This straitjacket way of dealing with the National Treasury must end, and that is what I've tried to do.”
Mbadi explained that the budget preparation process began in September last year and involved multiple stages, including budget review papers, policy statements, parliamentary scrutiny and public participation forums.
To gather public views, he said he toured various parts of the country, holding consultations in Migori, Kakamega, Eldoret, Nakuru, Embu, Kiambu, Kajiado and Kilifi.
He also engaged youth groups, informal-sector workers, boda boda operators and mitumba traders.
