Cabinet has limited foreign travel to only the most critical trips. In a meeting held on Thursday last week, it was resolved that ambassadors or county commissioners will represent Cabinet secretaries where appropriate.
This decision follows an earlier warning from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) that it will scrap certain allowances paid to Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) as a way of curbing the rising public wage bill.
Foreign trips
The Government has already indicated it will issue new guidelines to regulate foreign travel for officers of both the national and county governments. "There is need for prudent management of public resources and one of the ways to do so is to regulate travel to avoid wastage," said the Deputy President after a recent meeting at his Karen home.
A recent report by the Auditor General shows that MCAs were spending lavishly on unnecessary foreign trips. The new travel regulations will set the limit on the amount of money to be spent by respective counties on foreign travel.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to issue guidelines to regulate all foreign travel. The Senate is also expected to pass laws that provide a clear legal framework to guide all matters of devolution, including foreign travel.
In a statement by Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia, the Cabinet also resolved to 'ruthlessly' deal with corruption and unethical practices in Government. Measures adopted include removal of all individuals, cartels and enablers of corruption. All officers involved in corruption will be dismissed and charged in court, the Cabinet warns.
It will also prepare a Sessional Paper on Devolved Governments, which provides broad policy strategic framework to guide the devolution process in Kenya. Already, the IMF has expressed misgivings over absence of certain pieces of legislation to enable devolution work.
The meeting also directed all Cabinet Secretaries must work closely with counties in the
ongoing payroll audits in all ministries, departments and government agencies to clean payrolls and get rid of ghost workers. A progress report will be tabled before Cabinet within one month.
The report is expected to quantify optimal staffing levels, highlighting deficits and staff surpluses across cadres and departments. Double-salary beneficiaries and other irregular and unethical cases will with immediate effect be investigated and the culprits charged in court.
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