Treasury bans foreign trips for public officials

Treasury CS Henry Rotich when he appeared before Senate Assembly Finance Committee at Parliament on Wednesday 11/11/15 over audit queries. PHOTO;BONIFACE OKENDO

The National Treasury has banned all international bench-marking and study tours by national and county officers.

In a move aimed at saving billions of shillings, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich announced that all trips had been suspended with immediate effect.

In the last financial year, public officials spent up to Sh20 billion in travelling expenses, almost half of the country's healthcare budget.

The national government spent Sh10.8 billion on international and domestic travel while counties spent nearly Sh9.2 billion.

Other areas where the State will cut back expenses include breakfast meetings, purchase of office furniture and Christmas cards.

Mr Rotich's directive comes amid public outcry on the level of wastage of resources through unnecessary international travel, months after a similar caution was issued by Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo.

"These measures affect both county and national governments, and I am copying a circular to the Finance county offices," Rotich said yesterday after launching the public participation of the next national budget.

Ironically, tens of public officers are part of the Kenyan delegation currently attending the Assembly of State Parties of the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

"We have also asked the county officials to hold most of their meetings at their county headquarters and reduce the many breakfast meetings," he said.

He added: "We are also going into the Christmas period and I have noticed many ministries' departments and authorities continue to print Christmas cards, calendars and even T-shirts. This expenditure will also not be entertained this time."

Rotich will present the spending cuts in a supplementary budget to be approved by the National Assembly.

Already, another legislation to raise additional revenues through revised excise taxes has been passed and is awaiting enactment.

The State hopes to raise additional Sh64 billion from beers, soda, water and small cars, as part of wider "belt-tightening" measures that could be complimented by yesterday's announced spending cuts.

Procurement in the public sector would also be streamlined through the electronic procurement platform to place a cap on inflated costs of goods and services.

But past audit reports have shown little compliance to laid down procurement guidelines, where an estimated Sh67 billion-worth of expenditures could not be accounted for.

It is unclear if the cuts on travel spent would be extended to the Office of the President, which spent Sh630 million on domestic and foreign tours in the last financial year.

MPs spent Sh4.2 billion, Foreign Affairs ministry Sh1.7 billion while the Interior and National Co-ordination ministry used Sh1.1 billion.

The Presidency, which includes State House and the Office of the Deputy President, was also the biggest spender on catering, consuming Sh1.5 billion, which is more than a third of the entire national government expenditure on hospitality vote.

It is, however, the trips by Members of County Assemblies that have elicited the most reactions from the public.