Nairobi — NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28 -- Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee have raised sharp concerns over revenue shortfalls, healthcare accountability and mounting fiscal pressures during a high-stakes review of the FY 2026/27 budget.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi defended the proposed KSh4.785 trillion spending plan, which carries a KSh1.111 trillion deficit to be financed largely through domestic borrowing.

However, lawmakers questioned the sustainability of the projections, citing persistent underperformance in revenue collection and lack of clarity on counties' own-source revenue.

Concerns also emerged over the Social Health Authority, with MPs demanding transparency on how benefits are being accessed despite more than 27 million Kenyans being registered.

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Treasury officials admitted that only about 5 million contributors are actively paying into the scheme and deferred detailed beneficiary data to the SHA Board.

Additional scrutiny focused on pending bills, education funding gaps and the effectiveness of key reforms such as the Electronic Government Procurement system and the Single Treasury Account.

The Treasury attributed pending bills to historical disbursement delays but said progress had been made in clearing arrears.

Despite the concerns, Mbadi insisted the budget framework supports economic growth and fiscal consolidation under the government's reform agenda.

The committee has now concluded its public participation exercise on the budget and will submit its report to the National Assembly on Tuesday.