Lavish travel spending persists as MPs, State House splash Sh7.8 billion in six months
The CoB notes that MPs emerged as the highest spenders, consuming Sh3.89 billion, which represents 40.7 per cent of the total travel expenditure.
Five key government offices, led by Parliament and the presidency, splashed Sh7.8 billion out of Sh9.6 billion on domestic and foreign travel between July and December 2024, leaving other state agencies to scramble for the remaining Sh1.8 billion, a report by the Controller of Budget (CoB) shows.
The CoB notes that MPs emerged as the highest spenders, consuming Sh3.89 billion, which represents 40.7 per cent of the total travel expenditure. This indicates that a significant number of lawmakers engaged in both international and domestic travel at a time when the government was struggling to finance essential public services.
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“In the first six months of the financial year 2024/25, travel expenditure amounted to Sh9.56 billion, compared to Sh11.38 billion recorded in a similar period in the financial year 2023/24. This comprises domestic travel at Sh6.47 billion and foreign travel at Sh3.11 billion,” CoB Margaret Nyakang’o said in the report.
The report further shows that the presidency, which includes the Executive Office of the President, the Office of the Deputy President, the State House, and the Prime Cabinet Secretary’s office, spent Sh546.4 million on travel within the same period.
Other major spenders included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Sh1.59 billion (16.7 per cent), the Ministry of Interior at Sh1.17 billion, and the Office of the Auditor-General at Sh628.6 million.
The five top-spending offices accounted for 81.9 per cent of the total government travel expenditure, leaving other agencies to share the remaining Sh1.8 billion. MPs alone consumed 44.7 per cent (Sh2.89 billion) of domestic travel funds, meaning that for every Sh100 spent on local travel, MPs used Sh44.7.
Heavy spenders
Other heavy spenders on domestic travel included the Interior Ministry (Sh1.1 billion), the Auditor-General (Sh569 million), and the presidency (Sh454 million). On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led in foreign travel expenditure at Sh1.49 billion (47.6 per cent), followed by Parliament, which spent Sh1 billion (32.3 per cent).
The continued high expenditure on travel has drawn criticism, especially as the government pursues a fiscal consolidation framework aimed at curbing excessive spending. The significant share of expenditure by Parliament and the presidency has been identified as a major hindrance to the success of the austerity drive.
In June 2023, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei issued a circular suspending non-essential foreign travel and limiting delegations.
“Delegations headed by Cabinet Secretaries shall not exceed four persons, including the CS as head of delegation. Delegations should include the most relevant technical persons to assist in meetings, deliberations, or presentations related to foreign travel,” Koskei directed.
Additionally, the circular required all travel by Cabinet Secretaries and other heads of institutions to be cleared by his office.
Besides travel expenditure, the CoB report also revealed that Sh2.09 billion was spent on hospitality across the national government during the six months under review.
The presidency led in hospitality spending at Sh655.7 million, followed by the Interior Ministry (Sh387 million) and Parliament (Sh197.7 million). Other significant spenders included the Treasury (Sh142.3 million), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sh167.2 million), and the Judiciary (Sh137 million).
Collectively, these six offices accounted for 80 per cent of all government hospitality spending.
The revelations in the CoB report come at a time when Kenyans are grappling with increased taxation and rising costs of living, further intensifying scrutiny on government spending.
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