The government has been urged to reduce public expenditure by eliminating duplicated roles across state agencies as part of efforts to contain rising public debt.
The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) Head of Programmes, Alexander Riithi, said government departments and agencies performing similar functions should be merged to reduce administrative costs and improve efficiency.
Riithi cited the roads sector as an example, pointing to the Ministry of Roads, Kenya Roads Board, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), which handle different aspects of road management.
He called for a review of the roles performed by the institutions to identify areas of overlap and reduce unnecessary expenditure.
Riithi also urged the government to properly implement zero-based budgeting, saying public spending should be justified rather than automatically carried forward from previous financial years.
He said reducing administrative costs would help the government manage its borrowing needs while ensuring available resources are directed towards essential public services.
