By The Weekly Vision Team
A few notable examples of large delegations included a 63-person delegation headed by the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs, which spent Ksh 50.6 million on a trip to Burundi and an 18-person delegation led by the Spouse of the Deputy President, Dorcas Rigathi, which spent Ksh 13.7 million during a six-day visit to Israel
Government officials spent a staggering Ksh 27.34 billion on both domestic and international travel during the last financial year, according to an August 2024 report by the Controller of Budget, Dr Margaret Nyakango, of this, Ksh 18.15 billion was used for local travel, while Ksh 9.19 billion went towards foreign trips.
The report highlighted issues with delegation sizes and poor coordination, leading to unnecessary overlaps. Several government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) made multiple trips to the same destinations, incurring avoidable expenses. For instance, the State Departments for Livestock Development and Crop Development each sent delegations to Rome, Italy, three times. In contrast, the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries and the State Department for Trade both sent delegations to Arusha, Tanzania, several times within the same period.
Notable expenditures included the State Department for Foreign Affairs (Ksh 3.3 billion), the National Assembly (Ksh 2.1 billion), the Parliamentary Service Commission (Ksh 152.3 million), the Senate (Ksh 614.9 million), the State House (Ksh 298.2 million), the Office of the Deputy President (Ksh 114.8 million), the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services (Ksh 115.8 million), and the State Department for Diaspora Affairs (Ksh 484.3 million). The Judiciary spent a massive Ksh 203.4 billion, with other notable expenditures coming from the State Departments for Labour and Skills, the East African Community, and the Office of the Auditor General.
The report detailed the rise in travel expenses, noting that domestic travel costs had increased from Ksh 10.82 billion in FY2019/20 to Ksh 18.15 billion in FY2023/24, a 29% increase compared to FY2022/23. Foreign travel expenses saw a 45% increase in the same period, growing from Ksh 6.33 billion to Ksh 9.19 billion despite efforts to curb non-essential trips.
Furthermore, the report noted that some payments for foreign travel in FY 2023/24 were clearing pending bills from previous years. The Commission of Administrative Justice, for instance, settled bills for foreign trips from FY 2022/23 during the current period.
Dr Nyakango expressed concern over the failure of some MDAs to submit detailed breakdowns of their travel expenses, with discrepancies observed between reported figures and actual expenditures.
A few notable examples of large delegations included a 63-person delegation headed by the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs, which spent Ksh 50.6 million on a trip to Burundi and an 18-person delegation led by the Spouse of the Deputy President, Dorcas Rigathi, which spent Ksh 13.7 million during a six-day visit to Israel. Additionally, Deputy President Gachagua led a 32-member delegation to Brussels at a cost of Ksh 16.5 million and later took a 29-member delegation to Dubai, spending Ksh 23.3 million.
He also headed another delegation of 27 people to Columbia for coffee reforms and another one to Germany comprising 22 people. The other notable travel expenditure includes three members of Gachagua’s office who travelled to Dubai for 14 days at a cost of Ksh 2.9 million.
In the State Department for East African Community, 15 people travelled to Magum, Serengeti District in Tanzania for the 12th Mara Day Celebrations. “Conserving Mara River Basin for Biodiversity And Sustainable Economy”, 18 people travelled to Arusha for Sectoral Council On Finance & Economic Affairs And Meeting Of The Pre-Budget Consultations Of The Ministers Of Finance while another 13 travelled to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Congo & Burundi for Diplomatic Engagements With Partner States On Hosting Of EAC Monetary Institute.
