President William Ruto has reduced the benefits for retired presidents by Ksh.99 million as part of his austerity measures to align with the newly revised 2024/2025 budget.

In a statement by State House Controller Katoo Ole Metito, the approved budget for State House was reduced from Ksh.9.496 billion to Ksh.4.382 billion, a budget cut by 54 per cent. 

One of the most affected programs was the benefits allocated to retired presidents which was lowered from Ksh.646.69 million to Ksh.547.45 million. 

Another program that was mostly affected include the refurbishment of eight State Lodges across the country including Nairobi, Kakamega, Nakuru, Eldoret, Sagana, Mombasa, Kisumu and Mtito Andei. The allocated budget was reduced to zero. 

The government had also set aside a Ksh.696 million budget to the office of the First Lady to cater for four programs based on women empowerment, climate change, promotion of social justice and protection of children in safe homes and safe families.

For instance, her office was set to receive Ksh.4 million to plant 500 million trees across the country. The amount has also been revised to zero. 

Additionally, the government also reduced expenditure on presidential visits, national celebrations, state hospitality and maintenance of both residential and non-residential buildings.

On June 11, 2024, former president Uhuru Kenyatta alleged that the State had only allocated Ksh.28 million of the required Ksh.646 million to his Office, translating to 4.4 per cent of the amount. 

Through his spokesperson Kanze Dena, the former president intimated that he fueled his vehicles to run errands as his fuel cards were blocked and cancelled by the State in March 2023. 

The former president also revealed that the State has only facilitated two of his trips, forcing him to pay for his travel. 

The remarks were in response to government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura who claimed that Uhuru's office fully enjoyed all his benefits as provided by the State. 

Following a phone conversation between Ruto and Uhuru, the president formed a team to address all the concerns raised by the office of the Fourth President.