Government blew 30.60b on travel last year

Controller of Budget (COB) Dr Margaret Nyakang'o makes her submissions before the makes her submissions regarding P/No. 10/2026 on Strengthening oversight, transparency and intergenerational equity in public debt governance, before the Public Petitions Committee at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi. July 28th,2026 [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Government spent Sh30.69 billion in the Financial Year 2025/26 for travel expenses compared to Sh25.45 billion in the previous year, resulting in a whopping additional Sh5.2 billion, a report by the  Controller of Budget (CoB) has shown.

The National Government Budget Implementation Review Report (NGBIRR) covering the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 released by the CoB Margaret Nyakang’o has shown that out of the Sh30.69 billion spent in the Financial Year 2025/26, Sh21.98 billion was used for foreign and Sh8.71 billion for domestic travel.

According to Nyakang’o, this recorded a sharp increase compared to Sh25.45 billion recorded in FY 2024/25 where the domestic travel was Sh18.05 billion and foreign travel was Sh7.40 billion.

At the same time, Nyakang’o noted that the expenditure on hospitality services stood at Sh11.72 billion compared to Sh6.33 billion incurred in the Financial Year 2024/25.

The National Lands Commission recorded the highest hospitality expenditure of Sh1.71 billion, while other spending included insurance costs at Sh30.15 billion, rent and rates on non-residential buildings at Sh11 billion, specialised materials and supplies for Sh17.47 billion while the fuel, oil and lubricants cost stood at Sh5.07 billion.

“The report is prepared in line with Section 9(2) of the CoB Act, Cap 429, which outlines budget execution, financial and non-financial performance, revenue collection, and expenditure. The report is based on submissions by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the National Treasury and reports generated from the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS),” Nyakang’o explained.

The report has also shown that National Government’s revised gross budget for FY 2025/26 amounted to Sh5.27 trillion following approval of Supplementary II Estimates, compared to Sh4.37 trillion in FY 2024/25.

This comprised Sh889.87 billion for ministerial development expenditure, which was 17 per cent of the revised gross national budget and 30 per cent of the revised gross ministerial budget of Sh2.93 billion.

“Recurrent vote allocation amounted to Sh4.38 trillion, comprising the ministerial recurrent allocation of Sh2.04 trillion (39 per cent of the revised gross national budget) and Consolidated Fund Services (CFS) at Kshs.2.34 trillion (44 per cent of the revised gross national budget), with CFS recording the highest proportion of the gross budget,” Nyakang’o explained.

The education sector received the highest budget allocation of Sh757.50 billion, followed by energy, infrastructure and information communication technology at Sh608.17 billion, reflecting their key role in the economy.

To finance the budget, she said the government, through the National Treasury, targeted to generate revenue from various sources, including tax and non-tax revenue, borrowing (both external and domestic), grants, other domestic financing, and ministerial Appropriations-in-Aid (AIA).

During the reporting period, receipts into the Consolidated Fund amounted to Sh4.61 trillion, representing 94 per cent of the annual net target, compared to the Sh3.99 trillion (75 per cent) received in FY 2024/25.

Tax revenue accounted for the largest share of total receipts, at 53 per cent (Sh2.45 trillion), and recorded the highest performance, at 99.7 per cent of the annual target while the AIA reported by MDAs amounted to Sh568.30 billion.

As of 30 June 2026, Nyakang’o said the public debt stock stood at Sh13.01 trillion, comprising Sh5.68 trillion owed to external lenders (44 per cent) and Sh7.32 trillion due to domestic lenders (56 per cent).

“The public debt stock increased by 10 per cent from Sh11.80 trillion as of June 30, 2025, equivalent to 68.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and exceeding the 55 per cent threshold approved by Parliament. External debt increased by 5 per cent due to the issuance of new Eurobonds in 7-year and 12-year tranches of blended yield at 8.7 per cent following buy-backs of three Eurobonds of Sh78.32 billion, Sh86.29 billion and Sh58.13 billion floated in March 2025, October 2025 and February 2026, respectively,” she explained.

Similarly, she explained that domestic debt recorded 16 per cent growth, attributable to increased borrowing through Treasury bills and bonds in the domestic market.

The total expenditure on public debt in FY 2025/26 amounted to Sh1.77 trillion, representing 85 per cent of the approved estimates, compared to Sh1.59 trillion (91 per cent) recorded in FY 2024/25.

The increase was attributed to growth in principal payments on external debt from Sh332.67 billion in FY 2024/25 to Sh504.35 billion in FY 2025/26 and an increase in interest payments on domestic debt to Sh759.20 billion compared with Sh678.25 billion paid in FY 2024/25.

An analysis of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) development expenditure by economic classification shows that the highest spending category was Capital Transfers to SAGAs at Sh582.12 billion, representing 72 per cent of the gross development expenditure.

Capital transfers may take the form of subsidies, grants, or direct transfers to SAGAs, intended to complement activities and mandates executed on behalf of parent ministries.

Construction and Civil Works recorded Sh117.29 billion, the second-highest spending category, representing 14 per cent, with the State Department for Housing and Urban Development recording the highest at Sh113.64 billion.

Another budget item with significant expenses was construction of residential buildings at Sh24.06 billion (3 per cent).

The report has also shown that the State Department for Roads recorded the highest capital transfers at Sh170.07 billion, representing 31 per cent, and the State Department for Economic Planning recorded Sh61.94 billion, representing 11 per cent of the total capital transfers.

She also recorded other expenses category, which stood at Sh55.51 billion, representing 7per cent of the total gross development expenditure.

MDAs that recorded the highest expenditure under the “other expenses” category which included the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services for supplies of production of Identity Cards material at Sh6.8 billion and contracted technical services at Sh4.9 billion.

Also in this category, was the State Department for Technical, Vocational Education and Training including Sh2.4 billion for the acquisition of furniture and general equipment while Sh991 million went to State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy for training expenses and Sh1.2 million for other operating expenses.

The National Treasury included Sh5.9 billion on the use of other goods and services and Sh1billion on the purchase of buildings, State Department for Agriculture, where major items were on agricultural supplies at Sh2.20 billion and specialised materials at Sh2.40 billion while State Department for Housing and Urban Development included Sh5.8 billion for contracted professional services.

According to the CoB, delays in adoption of the Electronic Government Procurement System (EGPS), accumulation of trade payables (pending bills) for National Government entities, upsurge in the use of Article 223 of the Constitution to access exchequer issues, public debt growth in both stock and expenditure as well as delay in implementing equalization fund were some of the issues that hindered the timely execution of planned national government activities.

To address the challenges, CoB has called for strengthening user capacity through targeted training focused on change management and supplier sensitisation to improve implementation of the EGP system and enhance procurement efficiency.

“Verified pending bills should be settled on a First-In-First-Out basis and be adequately budgeted for in FY 2026/27 and in the medium-term budget framework in line with Regulation 56(2b) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations 2015,” she said.

 

Government spending

Sh30.69b: Total government travel expenditure

Sh21.98b: Foreign travel

Sh8.71b: Domestic travel

Sh5.24b: Increase in travel spending from FY 2024/25

Sh11.72b: Hospitality expenditure, up from Sh6.33bn

Sh1.71b: Highest hospitality spending by the National Lands Commission

Sh30.15b: Insurance costs

Sh17.47b: Specialised materials and supplies

Sh11b: Rent and rates for non-residential buildings

Sh5.07b: Fuel, oil and lubricants