Demand fiscal discipline from all public leaders

Wednesday, Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro opened a training session for county leaders. The talks centred mostly on the role of the Members of County Assemblies.This is welcome news given that this cadre of leaders has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

They have been partly responsible for the slow pace of development in various counties owing to the number of impeachment proceedings they initiated against some governors while threatening others. There was also talk of slowed county appointments as MCAs sought cash from county job applicants.

Again, refusal by some MCAs to approve county budgets has also impacted negatively on development during their first year in office.

However, it was the MCAs' love for foreign travel ostensibly to learn some art or trade that drew public anger. They have come under condemnation for generally misusing public funds.

The rage against them deflected attention from the fact that MPs have also been spending too much money on foreign travel. The huge allowances they draw while on these foreign trips has been a drain on the public coffers.

While measures are put underway to curb the evident excesses of the MCAs and restore fiscal discipline, the same should be done for MPs.

Members of Parliament have had the carte blanche in determining their own pay and allowances, something that leaves room for abuse. It behoves the Controller of Budget to cut down heavily on the allocations for local and foreign travel for both cadres of leaders.

The economy cannot support this wastage at a time that foreign exchange reserves have dipped following a spate of terrorist attacks and the issuance of travel advisories against Kenya to tourists from the US and European countries.

In this digital age, much can be learned on the digital platform without necessarily travelling abroad.

Those charged with managing the country's finances must insist on frugality.

Because we cannot be complaining of shortage of funds to carry out development projects, while hundreds of leaders can still afford to travel outside the country at the taxpayers' expense.