Kenya faces questions over US$31M maize flour subsidy spent without parliamentary approval
The funds, which had been placed under the Department’s recurrent budget, were used to pay maize flour millers.
KENYA – Kenya’s government is under renewed scrutiny after a new sector report revealed that KES 4 billion (US$31.4 million) was spent on the 2022/23 maize flour subsidy programme without the mandatory approval of Parliament.
The disclosure has triggered concerns over possible misuse of public funds within one of the country’s most politically sensitive food value chains.
According to the report prepared under the Agriculture, Rural and Urban Development sector, the State Department for Crops Development recorded an over-expenditure of KES 4 billion in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
The funds, which had been placed under the Department’s recurrent budget, were used to pay maize flour millers even though they were not included in the final appropriations under Supplementary Estimates 1 and 2.
“The KES 4 billion maize flour subsidy was loaded in the Recurrent Budget and used to pay millers, even though it was not approved by Parliament during the Supplementary 1 and 2 finalisation for FY 2022/23,” the report stated.
The expenditure forms part of a broader set of fiscal pressures documented in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2026/27–2028/29).
It shows that recurrent budget absorption in 2022/23 reached 104.4%, while development spending in subsequent years was disrupted by budget cuts and delays in approval processes.
“Over-expenditure in FY 2024/25 under compensation to employees occurred because budget cuts were applied after costs had already been incurred,” the document added, pointing to structural challenges in planning and execution across the agricultural sector.
The maize subsidy question has long been intertwined with Kenya’s political landscape.
During the 2022 General Election period, maize flour prices and subsidy programmes became a dominant campaign issue.
After taking office, President William Ruto announced the scrapping of the subsidy initiated during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
The programme had been reintroduced in May 2017 at a cost of KES 6.5 billion (US$51 million) to cut the retail price of a 2kg packet of maize flour, which was then selling at KES180.
While the past subsidies draw scrutiny, the Ministry of Agriculture is projecting a positive production outlook.
In September, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that Kenya is on course for a historic harvest of 70 million 90kg bags of maize in 2025, an increase from 67 million bags in 2024 and a sharp recovery from the 34.3 million bags recorded in 2022 when drought disrupted yields.
The government also plans to restock the National Strategic Food Reserve by purchasing maize directly from farmers, an approach aimed at strengthening market stability and boosting national food security.
CS Kagwe emphasised that improved productivity has been largely supported by the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme, under which farmers received 21.3 million bags of fertiliser worth KSh53.25 billion (US$ 411.5 million).
According to the ministry, the intervention has enabled farmers to save an estimated KSh105 billion (US$ 811 million) as fertiliser prices dropped by as much as 67% per 50kg bag.
According to the state, these gains have supported higher maize production and improved farmer margins across key producing counties.
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