In its first meeting of 2024, Kenya’s cabinet approved implementing a Treasury Single Account (TSA) system for government banking, a move aimed at consolidating fiscal management, improving expenditure control and reducing the need for borrowing.
The TSA will give the government “a consolidated view of the total available cash balances at any given time across all Ministries, State Organs, State Departments, State Agencies/Corporations, and other government entities,” according to a statement from the Cabinet Office.
“The policy shift also seeks to strengthen expenditure controls, forecasting, and budgeting in line with the Administration’s commitment to an open Government that delivers utmost value-for-money to the public,” the statement said.
The policy builds on recent automation of government payments and will also apply to county governments.
“The implementation of the County Single Account system will be secured through their respective County Revenue Funds,” the cabinet said.
The TSA was one of several policy initiatives approved during the cabinet’s inaugural 2024 meeting on Monday, which President William Ruto presided over.
The cabinet session highlighted 2024 as “a consequential period” for implementing Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
“The programmes and projects include Agricultural Transformation, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, the Affordable Housing Programme, Healthcare through Universal Health Coverage, the Digital Economy powered by the Digital Superhighway, and the Creative Economy,” the Cabinet Office statement said.
Other actions approved by the cabinet included fully rolling out e-Government Procurement to boost competition and savings, ratifying an agreement to improve public sector legal capacity, developing green bonds to finance climate-friendly infrastructure, restoring ecosystems through a tree-planting partnership, enhancing social safety nets, and recognizing skills gained outside formal education.
The cabinet plans to hold an annual retreat in February to review progress on Ruto’s economic agenda.
