Sh9.5bn spent on travel as Kenya struggles with budget deficit - CoB Nyakang’o
The CoB warned that the government’s appetite for non-essential expenditure like travel and inflated allowances is worsening the country’s budget deficit and increasing pressure on public debt.
The Controller of Budget (CoB) has warned that lavish government travel is draining public funds and threatening Kenya’s financial stability.
Speaking before the National Assembly’s public debt and privatisation committee, Margaret Nyakang’o said the country has already spent over Sh9.5 billion on local and international trips this financial year, money she believes could have been saved or redirected to more pressing needs.
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Nyakang’o questioned the justification for extravagant foreign trips, recalling a recent visit to Turkey where she found a room full of Kenyans attending an event that could have been held locally.
"I was lucky to go to Turkey last year on an ICPAK trip. The whole room was full of Kenyans and was being facilitated by a Kenyan, so what you ask yourself is, why didn’t these people sit in Mombasa and have a Kenyan facilitate them? Did they have to fly to Istanbul?” she posed.
The CoB warned that the government’s appetite for non-essential expenditure like travel and inflated allowances is worsening the country’s budget deficit and increasing pressure on public debt.
She emphasised the need to prioritise core spending areas and reduce unnecessary costs.
Nyakang’o also raised concerns about rising salaries, allowances and miscellaneous expenditures, which have increased from Sh4.08 billion to Sh4.67 billion.
This growth comes at a time when other critical allocations, such as pensions and gratuities, are being underfunded.
Only Sh115 billion has been disbursed in the first nine months out of the Sh223 billion allocated.
"Just when we have collected enough from KRA to pay something like pensions, you know what happens, I find six requests for article 223 people need to spend outside the budget, and they need it now, today, that is what article 223 means,” she said.
Nyakang’o warned that unless the government adopts fiscal discipline and channels public resources more efficiently, Kenya could face serious financial risks, including defaulting on its obligations.
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