Nairobi: The General Economic and Commercial Affairs sector has called for increased funding, stronger policy alignment, and improved coordination across its departments as it prepares its submissions for the next budget cycle. Speaking in Nairobi during a sector presentation conducted by the National Treasury on the proposed Financial Year 2026/27 and the Medium-Term Budget, Principal Secretary for ASALs and Regional Development, Harsama Kello, noted that the sector remains a central driver of economic productivity, industrialization, and regional competitiveness but continues to face underfunding, delayed exchequer releases, and rising fiscal pressures that weaken performance in trade, industry, tourism, cooperatives, and regional integration.
According to Kenya News Agency, Kello maintained that the sector requires more predictable allocations if it is to meet its targets, saying, 'the programmes we are implementing cannot achieve their intended results when we continue to operate under significant resource constraints and delayed disbursements that interrupt planned activities and disrupt long-term planning'.
Concurrently, the Director of Economic Planning, Benson Senela, who presented the sector review, reported that despite financial limitations, the sector has recorded progress in leather and marble processing, irrigation expansion, and the construction of water infrastructure in arid regions. Senela highlighted that cooperatives have experienced growth, new trade arrangements have been developed, industrial technologies have been upgraded, and innovation capacity has continued to rise.
Importantly, Senela asserted that the sector's gains demonstrate what can be achieved with targeted support, stating that 'we have seen clear improvements in exports, investment flows, and infrastructure development, but these achievements can only be sustained if existing funding gaps are addressed and if legal and policy reforms are expedited to support a modern and competitive economic environment'.
Meanwhile, the budget analysis presented at the meeting showed that recurrent expenditure registered strong absorption, with several departments surpassing 95 percent utilization, while development expenditure reflected gaps linked to procurement delays and inconsistent exchequer releases.
Tourism reported a significant rebound in performance, with international arrivals increasing from 1.6 million to 2.42 million and earnings nearly doubling within the review period, while domestic tourism and the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions segment also posted strong growth.
Equally, small and medium enterprises benefited from expanded access to affordable credit, innovation incentives, and market linkages, while the manufacturing capacity was strengthened through the development of county aggregation parks, upgraded industrial centers, and expanded cold storage facilities as investment in special economic zones and export processing zones continued to rise steadily.
Senela pointed out that the sector intends to fast-track digital systems, expand public-private partnerships, and reinforce coordination among implementing agencies to support more efficient service delivery. In her remarks, Principal Secretary for Trade, Regina Ombam, assured that the sector would incorporate stakeholder concerns into upcoming budget submissions and emphasized the need for continuous engagement.
'Public participation helps us refine our proposals and ensures that our budget reflects the realities faced by the people and institutions that depend on these programmes,' she ascertained.
On the other hand, participants raised concerns about counterfeit goods, weak enforcement standards, inadequate water resource management, and the continued use of outdated measurement tools in trade.