Kenya’s Treasury Responds To Claims Of Ksh1.3 Trillion Irregular Exchequer Withdrawals
The National Treasury has replied to news that both the national and county governments have withdrawn almost Ksh1.3 trillion from Kenya’s Central Bank in the last seven months.
On Sunday, March 2, Chris Kiptoo, the Principal Secretary, issued a statement refuting the charges.
Kiptoo noted that, while exchequer requests and withdrawals had not been automated at the conclusion of the fiscal year 2023/2024, strong legal and financial procedures had been implemented.
“A section of the media has today published a report suggesting irregularities in Exchequer withdrawals, particularly claims of a Ksh1.3 trillion withdrawal over seven months,” part of the statement read.
PRESS RELEASE
— The National Treasury & Economic Planning (@KeTreasury) March 2, 2025
The National Treasury assures the public that all Exchequer withdrawals strictly comply with legal and financial oversight mechanisms.
See the full statement below:@KBCChannel1 @TheStarKenya @StandardKenya @BloombergAfrica @PeopleDailyKe @Kenyans @NationAfrica ,… pic.twitter.com/NuXuvNLyiM
“While we await the official report from the Controller of Budget, The National Treasury wishes to clarify the facts.”
The statement continued: “Until the end of the 2023/24 financial year, Exchequer requests and withdrawals were processed manually, as the system had not yet been automated.
“However, all withdrawals followed strict legal and financial procedures, with every transaction subject to review and approval by the Controller of Budget, ensuring full compliance with public finance regulations.”
PS Kiptoo went on to say that, commencing July 1, a major reform was implemented in partnership with the CBK and the Controller of Budget (CoB) to automate the exchequer process.
This, he added, was done to increase efficiency, minimize processing time, promote accountability, and reinforce financial monitoring.
As a result, all national government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have effectively moved to this automated system, which requires the CoB to approve exchequer requests digitally.
However, due to their unique approval process, not all of these transactions were successfully completed.
They include debt repayments, distributions to counties, the Judiciary Fund, and the Equalization Fund. The onboarding process is now underway.
Despite this, the PS stated that even manually processed transactions were closely monitored, leaving no possibility for error.
“The National Treasury categorically affirms that all Exchequer withdrawals, whether processed manually or electronically, are subject to strict legal and financial oversight,” part of the statement read.
“Controller of Budget, ensuring full compliance with public finance regulations. At no point has public money been lost or misappropriated through this process.”
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The message concluded with a commitment to create a more thorough response once the formal report from the Controller of Budgets was available.
According to an exclusive story in the February 2 issue of the Daily Nation, both governments manually requested more than Ksh1.3 trillion to pay debt, pensions, and other expenses, bypassing the automatic system.
According to the article, this information came from a confidential CoB report to the National Assembly Committee on Finance and National Planning.
These transactions are said to have taken place between July 12, 2024, and February 2025.
Kenya’s Treasury Responds To Claims Of Ksh1.3 Trillion Irregular Exchequer Withdrawals
