Governors, MCAs spent Sh16b on travel despite austerity calls
Governors and MCAs spent a whopping Sh16.2 billion on domestic and foreign trips in the 2018/19 financial year, a new report by the Controller of Budget (CoB) shows.
The report, covering July 2018 to June this year, revealed that the travel expenditure rose by 42.5 per cent from Sh11.36 billion incurred in the 2017/18 financial year.
The amount comprised Sh9.9 billion for domestic travel and Sh1.5 billion for foreign travel. In the 2016/17 financial year, the officials spent Sh12.15 billion on travel.
Data from the CoB shows during 2018/19 fiscal year, the governors and MCAs—who have been on the spot for making unnecessary trips—gobbled up Sh13.44 billion on domestic travel and Sh2.75 billion on overseas trips.
The hefty spending casts the spotlight on a high appetite for public resources amid persistent calls to use available funds prudently.
Last month, the government— through the National Treasury— halted all benchmarking trips by ministries and their respective State departments in fresh austerity measures aimed at cutting on public spending.
In a circular dated September 26 sent to all Cabinet secretaries and accounting officers, Acting Treasury Cabinet secreatry Ukur Yatani said the government had capped the number of officers in government delegations for foreign travel at four.
“The high expenditure on travel, which is a non-core activity, may lead to reduced expenditure on key development programmes, as we operate in a cash-flow constrained economic environment,” reads the annual County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the financial year 2018/19 by the acting CoB Stephen Masha.
Cut spending
“This is contrary to the requirements of Article 201 of the Constitution which demands that public money shall be used in a prudent and responsible way,” adds the report.
The controller recommended that expenditure on non-core activities, such as travelling should be rationalised to free funds for implementation of key development programmes.
In his report, Masha named Machakos county as the highest spender on domestic and foreign travel at Sh643 million, followed by Nairobi and Kisii at Sh641 million and Sh598 million respectively.
This is the second time Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s administration is on the spot over high travel costs. Counties that had the least absolute expenditure were Kirinyaga, Samburu and Elgeyo Marakwet at Sh167 million, Sh117 million and Sh111 million respectively.
