How billions are splashed on travel, lunches and teas as health, education stutter

As Kenyans grapple with collapsing education and health sectors due to underfunding, the Controller of Budget has released a fresh report highlighting that the Office of the President, State House and Parliament blew away billions of shillings on travel.

The National Government Budget Implementation Review Report for the 2024/2025 financial year has exposed how State House and the Office of the President expended Sh2.4 billion on domestic travel alone despite public calls for austerity measures in government expenditure. This included the State House’s Sh2.2 billion and the Office of the President’s Sh224.4 million.

This translates to Sh6.6 million spent daily on travel by air, road or rail by officials from the two offices.

“Total travel expenditure was Sh25.46 billion, compared to Sh27.34 billion recorded in FY 2023/24. This comprises domestic travel at Sh18.05 billion and foreign travel at Sh7.40 billion,” reads the report in part.

Further, the billions spent on domestic travel marked an increase from the joint expenditure of Sh1.4 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year.

To put it into context, domestic travel involves attending conferences, meetings, or undertaking work-related tasks, where officials also draw daily subsistence allowances (DSA) based on rank and location.

According to the report, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s office spent Sh228.2 million on domestic travel, which was, however, a significant decrease from the Sh441 million expended when former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was at the helm.

Nyakang’o highlighted that compared to the last financial year, domestic travel under the Deputy President’s office had decreased by Sh212.8 million.

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, through the report, also disclosed that MPs were the highest spenders of the travel billions, having spent Sh4.6 billion on domestic travel and a further Sh2 billion on foreign travel. Senators were also under scrutiny for having spent Sh1.2 billion on domestic travel and Sh633 million on foreign trips.

“The National Assembly recorded the highest expenditure on domestic travel, which is attributed to the nature of work by the Members of Parliament, seconded by State House, Sh2.26 billion, and the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration at Sh1.68 billion,” she said.

For foreign travel, the State House and President William Ruto’s office spent a cumulative Sh246.54 million, inclusive of Sh56.7 million by the Office of the President and Sh189 million by State House.

However, the State Department for Foreign Affairs recorded the highest expenditure for the 2024/2025 financial year at Sh2.52 billion, which was attributed to the nature of its activities, followed by the National Assembly at Sh1.99 billion and the Senate at Sh633.49 million.

A deep dive into the report also revealed that the State House gobbled up Sh1.15 billion in hosting meetings and empowerment programmes.

This was compared to the Executive Office of the President, which spent Sh239 million on hospitality, and Sh379 million was spent by the Office of the Deputy President during the same 12 months. The Judiciary recorded hospitality expenditure of Sh514.65 million, while the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration accrued a bill of Sh490.98 million.

On Wednesday, Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina urged the President to cut back on this spending. In a post on his X account, the senator stated: “You may not like what I have to say, but I‘ll say it anyway. State House lunches are waste of public funds. Bus rides, per diems & buffets don’t build roads or jobs. Mr President, take a pause on county visits & State House lunches for 100 days – embrace digital town halls. End politics of the plate, embrace politics of the future.”

At the same time, Nyakang’o’s analysis of overall government expenditure for the year under review indicated a total spend of Sh4.4 trillion, with notable increases and decreases in recurrent expenditure across government.

The payment of salaries/compensation to employees amounted to Sh645.6 billion, representing a Sh47.6 billion increase from the Sh597.9 billion expended in the previous fiscal year. Spending on specialised materials and supplies also rose to Sh12.38 billion from Sh8.6 billion, while government fuel expenses increased by Sh900 million to Sh4.5 billion compared to Sh3.4 billion in the last financial year.

Meanwhile, the report by the Office of the Controller of Budget details how the Office of the President spent a staggering Sh1.07 billion on government advisory services out of its total budgetary allocation of Sh4.6 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year.

The National Government Budget Implementation Review Report shows that the Office of the President spent a billion on its numerous advisers on various issues. Further, it spent Sh758 million on leadership and coordination services.

The billion included Sh475.7 million for counter-terrorism advisory services, Sh62.4 million for Kenya–South Sudan advisory services, Sh45.68 million for advisory services on the Power of Mercy, Sh249.63 million for advisory services on public entities oversight, and Sh148.22 million for strategic policy advisory services. Another Sh758.64 million was expended on leadership and coordination services.

According to the report, the millions spent on Kenya–South Sudan advisory services went towards training 48 out of a projected 60 Government of South Sudan officials, whereas under the Power of Mercy advisory services, four full committee meetings were held and the Head of State received advisory on the exercise of the Power of Mercy. Another 12 meetings were held by the committee to consider petitions for the Power of Mercy, while 12 sensitisation forums were undertaken among convicted prisoners, leaders and the general public on the electronic Power of Mercy Petition Management Information System.

The millions under Advisory Services on Economic and Social Policies were, according to the report, channelled towards advisories on oceans and blue economy resources, with the President receiving 100 policy advisories and briefs. President William Ruto also engaged in 24 out of a planned 26 strategic public engagements with stakeholders.

Moreover, the millions spent under Strategic Policy Advisory Services saw the Office of the President advised on zero-fault audits, legal and regulatory compliance by ministries and departments, and engaged in 34 meetings on regional peacebuilding, rehabilitation, national cohesion and integration forums during the review period.

Notably, the splurging of the billion on advisory services comes at a time the public has criticised President Ruto for having a bloated team of advisers and draining billions from taxpayers’ pockets.

A spot-check by The Standard revealed that in less than one year, the number of presidential advisers has increased from about seven to 20, with more likely to join the team, especially under the broad-based arrangement in which the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition is working with the ODM party.

This is a stark contrast to former President Mwai Kibaki, who had only three advisers in his second term.

It is also in contravention of a pledge made by Ruto in July 2024, shortly after the Gen Z- and millennials-led anti-government protests.

“The number of advisers in my administration is going to be reduced by 50 per cent with immediate effect as part of the austerity measures that we are carrying out in government,” Ruto had said shortly after dissolving his Cabinet.

On the flipside, the State managed to reduce its costs on insurance in the 2024/2025 financial year by Sh2.2 billion, bringing it down to Sh18.2 billion compared to Sh20.4 billion spent in the previous financial year.

Under hospitality, despite the numbers remaining high, Ruto’s administration reduced expenditure by Sh1.3 billion to Sh6.3 billion, down from Sh7.6 billion. A similar trend was recorded under the training budget, where expenditure dropped by Sh1 billion to Sh3.9 billion from Sh4.9 billion.

The foreign travel budget was reduced by Sh1.7 billion, from Sh9.1 billion in 2023/2024 to Sh7.4 billion in the year under review.