State officials gobble up Sh12bn on trips
The report by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o shows domestic travel gobbled up Sh8.49 billion, while foreign trips cost Sh3.9 billion by March 31.
Top government officials used Sh12.4 billion on foreign and domestic travel in the first nine months of this financial year, a new report says.
The report by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o shows domestic travel gobbled up Sh8.49 billion, while foreign trips cost Sh3.9 billion by March 31. In the National Government Budget Implementation Review Report for 2021/22, Dr Nyakang’o says the travel costs went up, compared to the Sh9.24 billion recorded in a similar period in 2020/21.
“This growth is attributable to the government’s lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions,” it says.
To contain the spread of Covid-19 reported in Kenya in March 2020, the government developed guidelines that restricted the movement of persons and promoted virtual meetings and working from home for non-critical government services.
This implied that government officers, including those in the counties, were limited in the number of activities requiring physical meetings such as workshops and seminars. But the measures were lifted in phases.
These costs defy an austerity drive to curb non-essential expenditure even after calls by the Treasury to free up cash for development and provision of basic services. The Treasury has in the recent past flagged foreign trips by top state officials as wastage of public funds due to the huge delegations and high per diem.
Institutions that recorded the highest increase in foreign travel spending include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Sh1.569 billion and MPs and senators at Sh1.05 billion. According to the report, another Sh5.80 billion was spent on rentals and rates for non-residential buildings and Sh3 billion on hospitality
The Presidency—comprising the offices of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto—used Sh294.76 million and Sh24.95 million on domestic and foreign travel respectively.
In the period under review, the absorption of the development budget stood at 45 per cent, far below the target, while that of recurrent budget was 64.6 per cent.
“To ensure timely implementation of development activities, the Controller of Budget recommends that Accounting Officers expedite procurement processes to ensure programmes are executed in line with work plans.
“The timely implementation of programmes will also enable payment before the end of the financial year and avoid accumulating pending bills,” it reads.
The government is also struggling with pending bills, which amounted to Sh434.5 billion by March. They include payment to contractors, projects, suppliers, unremitted statutory and other deductions, and pension arrears for Local Authorities Pension Trust. The CoB noted discrepancies in submitted data, which may result in inaccurate reports.
