•Further, the department says the management of diaspora and consular affairs requires Sh340 million to reinstate the departments foreign travel cut.
•Other proposals for the funds include spending Sh50 million to furnish and conduct repairs on Kenyan embassy in France in preparations for the Olympics to be held in Paris next year.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Kenya's Defence, Intelligence & Foreign Relations department seek to employ seven envoys with an annual budget of Sh400 million for peace initiatives in neighbouring countries.
This equates to Sh57 million for each envoy in one year, according to submissions before the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly.
The funds will be part of the addition of Sh7.25 billion that the department is requesting to be added onto its budget.
“The department is also seeking Sh400 million a year for a committee of seven special envoys appointed to undertake peace negotiations in Northern Sudan, Eastern DRC, Somalia and Tigray Ethiopia,” said Major retired Bashir Abdulahi who is the Vice Chair for Defense, Intelligence & Foreign Relations.
Other proposals for the funds include spending Sh50 million to furnish and conduct repairs on Kenyan embassy in France in preparations for the Olympics to be held in Paris next year.
In the plan the state department says it also require Sh1.7 billion to fill the funding gap of state visits budget for both inbound and outbound under the protocol envisioned.
“Olympics will be held in Paris, the committee felt that the Kenyan embassy in France is not in good shape so we request that money for renovations and refurbishments,” added Abdullahi.
Further, the department says the management of diaspora and consular affairs requires Sh340 million to reinstate the departments foreign travel cut.
NIS on the other hand will require recurrent expenditure budget of Sh1billion for recruitment of new staff.
The member of Parliament for Teso South Mary Emaase questioned the DG why the department of defence didn’t employ despite an allocated budget and biting unemployment in the country.
Following the recent cases of military plane crashes, the department said it has increased the amount for maintenance to Sh1 billion from Sh800 million last year.
Abdullahi told the Ndindi Nyoro led committee that the department does not owe any pending bills despite various concerns over nonpayment by the ministry of defense.
“There is a serious pending bill issue in the ministry of defence and from their report they claim there are no pending bills, are they writing off those pending bills. At the moment there is a serious investigation going on about KICC,” Voi member of parliament Abdi Chome questioned.
The proposed ceiling for the Ministry of Defence had been set at Sh198.57 billion which will be utilized for military recruitment, military modernization to close the existing gaps in the equipment and systems used by the military; and increased border security.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has a proposed ceiling for FY 2024/25 is Sh45.85 billion.
The State Department for Foreign Affairs (SDFA) is capped at Sh22.65 billion for FY 2024-25 to execute its programmes that entail foreign relations and diplomacy; economic and commercial diplomacy; and foreign policy research and technical cooperation.
On its part, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs (SDDA) has a proposed allocation of Sh1.26 billion for the 2024-25 financial year geared towards the management of Diaspora and Consular Affairs whose objective and outcome is to promote diaspora engagement and enhance consular services and a valued Diaspora in Nation Building, respectively.
For the East African Community department, the 2024 budget proposes to allocate Sh643 million towards used for East African Affairs and Regional Integration whose objective is to Coordinate Kenya’s participation in the EAC Regional integration process, monitor and evaluate implementation of the Northern Corridor development.