Lavish spending persistently dogs both the Executive and Parliament, despite tough times and orders for austerity to ease pressure on taxpayers.
A new report on government expenditure shows state officials splurged Sh5.7 billion on hospitality and foreign and domestic travel alone in three months.
If you add printing and advertising, the total comes to Sh8.1 billion in three months.
All the totals are higher than for the same period in the last financial year.
The half-year budget implementation review report for the National Government was released by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o on Wednesday.
The report on overspending and calls for austerity could spark fierce reactions at the height of election campaigns.
It reveals ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) spent Sh4.39 billion on travel alone in three months, between September 30 and December 31, 2021.
This pushed the cumulative expenditure on travel to Sh8.21 billion or Sh1.36 billion per month in the first six months of the 2021-22 financial year.
The MDAs spent Sh1.43 billion on hospitality — tea and other refreshments — in the last three months alone.
This ballooned the total expenditure on hospitality in the last six months to Sh2.27 billion.
The government also spent Sh883.32 million on printing and advertising and Sh1.26 billion on training between October and December.
Cumulatively, the government spent Sh1.8 billion on training and Sh990 million on advertising in the first six months of the fiscal year.
In the same period last year, the government had spent Sh5.99 billion on travel, Sh1.9 billion on hospitality and Sh512.83 million on training.
“In the first half of FY 2021-22, travelling expenditure was Sh8.84 billion, growth compared to Sh5.89 billion recorded in FY 2020-21,” the report read.
For years, Treasury CS Ukur Yatani announced a raft of austerity measures in government to cut down on expenditures and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
They include expenditures on non-core activities without special authorisation and a freeze on hiring to reduce ballooning expenditures.
“The expenditure control measures outlined in this circular are aimed at enhancing prudent financial management by ensuring that we live within our means, create savings for the much-needed service delivery and foster financial responsibility,” Yatani said in a September 2019 circular.
The government has been struggling to raise revenue to meet its obligations following the Covid 19 pandemic that battered key economic sectors.
According to the report, Parliament, the presidency, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Interior Ministry are among the top spenders on non-essentials.
The report shows that out of the Sh4.39 billion spent on travel in the last three months, MPs, senators, speakers and staff of Parliament accounted for Sh2.10 billion.
Cumulatively, the members spent Sh4.2 billion on travel since the beginning of the financial year.
The 417 members of Parliament and staff spent Sh226.91 million on hospitality as at December 31, 2021, up from Sh89.52 million as at September 30, 2021.
Parliament has often been on the spot over frequent, sometimes unnecessary trips abroad.They earn millions in allowances while on the trips.
Another Sh155.31 million was incurred on training by Parliament.
The report shows that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent Sh127.98 million and Sh963.28 million on domestic and foreign travels, respectively, in the first six months of the fiscal year.
This compared to Sh63.39 million and Sh813.37 million incurred on the domestic and foreign travel, respectively, in the first three months of the financial year.
The Ministry had incurred Sh108.68 million and Sh739.46 million on domestic and foreign travel, respectively.
It spent Sh219.04 million on hospitality and Sh18 million on advertising as at December 30 last year.
The presidency — which comprises the office of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, the Cabinet and Nairobi Metropolitan services – spent Sh244.78 million and Sh20.95 million on domestic and foreign trips.
It also incurred ShSh430.78 million on hospitality, Sh6.14 million on printing and advertising and Sh12.68 million on training.
The Judiciary spent Sh38.10 million and Sh10.16 million on domestic and foreign trips, respectively, compared with Sh265.93 million and Sh1.32 million incurred in the same period last year.
The report also focused on the IEBC, Auditor General and the National Treasury which have spent huge sums of money on travel.
It shows that the National Treasury spent Sh54.26 million and Sh34.47 million on domestic and foreign travel in six months.
The IEBC incurred Sh307.62 million and Sh105.42 million on domestic and foreign travel, compared with Sh90 million spent on the travel in the same period last year.
The office of the Auditor General spent Sh263.23 million and Sh4.9 million on travel in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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