MPs reject proposal to increase AFCON budget
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 22.02.26. | 08:10
The move came amid revelations that Kenya is yet to pay the mandatory Ksh3.5 billion hosting fee required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to secure its role in the continental tournament
The National Assembly Committee on Sports and Culture on Thursday, 19 February, rejected a proposal by the Sports Ministry to increase its budget allocation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
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The move came amid revelations that Kenya is yet to pay the mandatory Ksh3.5 billion hosting fee required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to secure its role in the continental tournament.
The committee, chaired by Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama, dismissed the Ministry’s request to raise the hosting budget from Ksh3.5 billion to Ksh5 billion, terming the justification inadequate.
“In fact, you should be cutting down your budget because the championship is being hosted by three states. Your push for an enhanced allocation should not be based on a country that single-handedly hosted AFCON,” Wanyama said.
The firm stance emerged as Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi disclosed that Kenya has not remitted the Ksh3.5 billion required by CAF due to lack of funds.
Kenya is set to co-host the 2027 tournament alongside Uganda and Tanzania under the Pamoja Bid.
According to Mwangi, the two partner states have already complied with CAF’s payment requirements.
“Uganda and Tanzania, who are our co-hosts, have already complied by paying the required fee to secure the hosting rights,” Mwangi told the committee during deliberations on the 2026 Budget Policy Statement.
The Sports Ministry had sought the committee’s intervention to have the Ksh3.5 billion included in a supplementary budget to enable Kenya meet its obligations and avoid jeopardising its standing with CAF.
In defending the proposed increment, Mwangi said he had led a delegation, including officials from Football Kenya, on a benchmarking visit during the last AFCON tournament in Morocco.
“We established that for Kenya to match the standards set during the competition in Morocco, we must enhance the budget,” he said.
However, MPs maintained that Kenya’s financial commitment must reflect the shared nature of the tournament, insisting that co-hosting with two other countries should ease the fiscal burden.
Despite rejecting the proposed increment, the committee assured the Ministry of its support in engaging the National Treasury to release the required hosting fee.
According to the Budget Policy Statement, the proposed ceiling for the Sports Department in the 2026/27 financial year stands at Ksh25.49 billion, comprising Ksh7.38 billion for recurrent expenditure and Ksh18.11 billion for development.
The session also exposed funding pressures in other dockets under the Ministry.
Principal Secretary for Culture, Arts and Heritage Ummi Bashir told MPs that her department requires Ksh5.7 billion for recurrent expenditure but has been allocated Ksh2.8 billion.
“As a result of the underfunding, many earmarked projects have stalled or failed to take off,” she said when she appeared before the committee alongside Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo.
Robert Basil, the Yatta MP, questioned the allocation of Ksh37 million to facilitate the President’s county visits during cultural events.
The PS told the committee that the amount has since been revised to Ksh23.6 million. He argued that the Office of the President is already funded for such engagements.
“The Office of the President is allocated funds for such activities. Why do you budget for the same? This amounts to duplication,” Basil said.
Lawmakers further scrutinised the Ksh145 million allocation under the Creative Economy docket for development of the Creative Economy Policy, the Creative Economy Bill and amendments to the Copyright Bill.
Principal Secretary for Creative Economy Jacobs Fikirini defended the allocation, saying it would facilitate drafting of regulations, stakeholder engagement and public participation.
Fikirini also disclosed that the sector had proposed Ksh2.891 billion for implementation of the Film Services Programme in the 2026/27 financial year but was allocated Ksh848.17 million, leaving a shortfall of Ksh2.043 billion.