By Peter Opiyo and David Ochami

If you work for the Government, a State corporation or the Teachers Service Commission, this is a good time to make travel plans.

Civil servants, teachers, TSC staff and parastatal employees are all looking at a little more spending money for travel away from their stations.

However, they will still have to account for what they spend on room charges, transport or meals and drinks.

The Government has decided to brave the hard times and relax its austerity measures by increasing accommodation and subsistence allowances for all employees in the public sector. This includes the Judiciary, Public Service Commission, Provincial Administration, National Security Intelligence Service and public universities.

The revised rates for subsistence allowance for overseas travel are harmonised with those applicable to public servants working with the United Nations, according to a November 12 memo signed by Public Service Permanent Secretary Mr Titus Ndambuki.

In the revised schedule, the most ‘lucrative’ destination is Iraq, probably because of its war-like state and shredded economy. Kuwait is the second most lucrative destination attracting $960 (Sh72,000) allowances daily. It is not clear why.

Laos, a Southeast Asian country is the least lucrative at $323 (about Sh24,225) per day.

The rates, last reviewed in 2006, also vary from town to town in the case of local travel. Entitlement also depends on job group but the average increase per day for each senior group roughly stands at Sh4,000, while in the lower cadres it is Sh1,000.

The senior most cadre of civil servants — job group S to V and their equivalent — who have been entitled to Sh8,000 a day when they travel to Nairobi, Kisumu, Malindi, Lamu and Kwale, will now carry Sh13,000 a night. If the same group travels to Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kericho, Kakamega, Naivasha, Nanyuki and Garissa they will claim Sh9,000, up from Sh6000. For a working trip to any other part of the country, they will claim Sh7,500 a day, up from Sh5,000.

With the increase, Ndambuki told the accounting officers, PSC would no longer entertain requests for enhanced per diem (daily allowances).

In the surprise move, coming ahead of the perennially financially tough period of December through to March, the Government gave a breakdown of revised earnings for public servants travelling abroad. It also decided to caution frequent travellers such as ministers and their assistants from the negative effect of currency depreciation by pegging their allowances to the dollar.

Starting next week, Ministers, Assistant ministers and other civil servants would draw as much as over Sh77,000 per individual as daily allowances in the form of allowances for a trip to Iraq.

This means if the entire Cabinet were to travel to the Middle East country, it would spend at least Sh7.7 million per day.

The Government has also enhanced meal allowances for the 42 ministers and 59 assistant ministers as well as senior civil servants travelling within Kenya.

Subsistence allowance

Daily meal allowances for civil servants travelling within Kenya would also rise steeply, according to new guidelines, a copy of which The Standard obtained.

"The new rates for subsistence allowance for overseas travel are harmonised with those applicable for public servants working with the United Nations and are designed to meet the cost of accommodation in reasonable hotels and also cater for meals, service charges and other incidental expenses,’’ reads Ndambuki’s memo. Its recipients include all Permanent Secretaries, the Controller and Auditor General, the Clerk of National Assembly, the Registrar of High Court, the Secretary of Public Service Commission, the Director-General of NSIS, the Secretary of TSC, Provincial Commissioners and chief executives of State corporations.

Meal allowance for job group S and V would be Sh1,000 for breakfast and Sh2,000 for meals and job group P and R officers would get Sh1,500 for meals and Sh750 for breakfast per day. Top civil servants in Job group U and V would draw $769 (about Sh57,675) daily allowance while on duty in Iraq. The entitlements for other countries are cascaded downwards according to the long list of nations attached to the memo, including such little-known states as Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein and Bhutan.

The increment come at a time the Government is working on cost-cutting measures to cushion the heavily burdened taxpayer from unnecessary spending. Notable is the proposal in June this year by Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta for Government officials to surrender vehicles above the engine capacity of 1,800cc. About 130 Volkswagen Passat cars were bought to replace vehicles used by Government officials to cut fleet operating costs.

Appointed tribunal

Another proposal aimed at increasing revenue by taxing allowances paid to MPs was floated by then Finance Minister, Amos Kimunya (now in Trade) last year. This would have seen the tax collector get about Sh600 million per year from the 224 MPs.

However, MPs deleted the clause from the Finance Bill, 2008. Following intense public criticism of the move, Speaker Kenneth Marende had to appoint an 11-member Tribunal to look at the matter.

The Tribunal, chaired by Justice Akilano Akiwumi, handed its report to Marende, who is the chairman of Parliamentary Service Commission, about ten days ago but it has not been made public. It is understood the tribunal recommended that the MPs be taxed on their allowances and the huge perks that members receive also be harmonised with those of other commonwealth countries. The recommendations are, however, understood to take effect during the Eleventh Parliament.