Four areas of government administration are set for new rules after President William Ruto assented to four Bills passed by Parliament in August, covering public finance, population planning, air passenger charges and the administration of trusts.
The legislation includes the National Council for Population and Development Bill, Air Passenger Service Charge (Amendment) Bill 2026, Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Trustees Bill.
The National Council for Population and Development Bill gives the council a legal status that it did not previously have, transforming it from a body created through an executive order into a statutory institution.
The council will continue to operate under the Ministry of Finance through the State Department for National Planning and will be involved in population planning and development matters.
The Bill was first passed by the National Assembly in 2024 before the Senate made amendments and sent it back to the Lower House. The two Houses eventually settled their differences, allowing Parliament to complete the legislative process in August 2026.
The council will support the coordination of population policies and programmes while providing advice on population growth, demographic changes and their impact on national development planning.
Changes have also been made to the way air passenger service charge revenue is handled under the Air Passenger Service Charge (Amendment) Bill 2026.
The National Assembly passed the legislation on August 27, 2026. It allows the Commissioner General to send the collected funds directly to agencies entitled to receive them after administrative expenses have been deducted.
The beneficiaries include the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, Kenya Meteorological Service Authority and Tourism Fund.
Ruto also signed the Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill 2025, bringing new provisions into the system used to manage public resources at both national and county levels.
Among the changes is a framework for moving functions between the national and county governments, with the law providing for the costing, resourcing and financing of such transfers.
The legislation further introduces accrual accounting across public entities and directs county governments to pass their finance Bills before a new financial year begins.
It also requires statutory deductions such as taxes and pension contributions to be transferred to the institutions entitled to receive them instead of being held or applied for other purposes.
Under the new provisions, accounting officers will have two months to forward financial statements to the Auditor-General, down from the previous three-month period.
Parliament and county assemblies, meanwhile, will have 21 days to consider key budget documents, up from 14 days.
The fourth legislation signed by the President is the Trustees Bill, which brings together and replaces provisions contained in the Trustees Perpetual Succession Act of 1923 and the Trustees Act of 1929.
The new law seeks to bring the regulation of trustees up to date and align it with requirements aimed at preventing money laundering and illicit financial flows.
It also sets out how trustees already operating under the previous laws will move into the new framework.
Supporters of the legislation said the changes will “make the law respond to the challenges of today”.
The four laws now form part of Kenya’s legal framework, with their implementation subject to the commencement provisions contained in each Act.
Relevant government agencies and institutions will be responsible for putting the new provisions into effect as the laws take effect.