The National Treasury has allocated Sh2 billion for the acquisition of a new data recovery site and the upgrade of an ICT centre at Konza Technopolis, marking a major boost to the Kenya Revenue Authority’s operations.
The allocation is contained in the first supplementary budget for the financial year ending in June, tabled in the National Assembly by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi.
A data recovery centre enables the restoration of lost, corrupted, accidentally deleted or otherwise inaccessible data.
The KRA had earlier disclosed that it is scaling up automation and digitisation of its operations to enhance efficiency and collections, increasing its demand for support infrastructure such as data centres.
Funds have also been set aside for the leasing of motor vehicles by the KRA, signalling the Treasury’s efforts to enhance the taxman’s capacity to collect more taxes amid narrowing room for the government to introduce new tax measures.
In total, the development budget for the National Treasury’s General Administration, Planning and Support Service — a vote under which KRA’s development budget is captured — has more than tripled with an additional Sh4.871 billion.
“Additional provision is on account of enhancement of budget for the Kenya Revenue Authority, shortfall for motor vehicle leasing, and enhancement of operations and maintenance,” the Treasury said.
This mini-budget is the first for the current financial year ending in June and will see the country’s total spending rise by Sh287.4 billion, reflecting an 11.3 percent increase from the original budget allocations.
Earlier disclosures by the KRA showed that the taxman is planning a major real estate expansion that will see it develop new infrastructure, including data centres, warehouses, staff offices, housing, laboratories and training centres.
The taxman said its operations and staff population have expanded substantially, putting pressure on existing facilities.
“The board of directors and KRA leadership identified the need for a property development strategy to provide a conducive working environment for KRA staff while accommodating additional recruitment from 8,523 staff in 2024 to 14,583 by the end of 2025,” KRA said in a disclosure.
