A new report from the Controller of Budget has revealed that State House spent a staggering Sh4.5 billion that was not part of its approved budget in the first nine months of this financial year. This is now being seen as one of the biggest cases of unplanned government spending during that period. Many Kenyans are left wondering how such a huge amount was used without proper planning or approval.
According to the same report, the entire Kenyan government spent Sh17.3 billion on both local and foreign travel in those nine months. That is a lot of money just for moving officials around. Out of this, State House alone used Sh1.3 billion on foreign trips and another Sh69 million on domestic travel. That means a big chunk of the travel budget went to the highest office in the land.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Deputy President also recorded heavy travel expenses. In the nine months, the Deputy President’s office spent a total of Sh298 million on travel. Out of this, Sh76 million went to foreign travel while Sh222 million was used for domestic trips. This shows that even the second-in-command’s office is burning through millions just on moving from place to place.
But the biggest spenders on travel were the Members of Parliament. The National Assembly MPs spent Sh2.8 billion on foreign travel and another Sh1.5 billion on local trips. That is over Sh4 billion combined just from the lower House. On the other hand, the Senate spent Sh1 billion on local travel and Sh815 million on foreign travel. When you add these numbers, it becomes clear that Parliament is by far the biggest traveler in government.
Many Kenyans are now asking tough questions about why so much public money is being used on travel while basic services like healthcare and education remain underfunded. With the Controller of Budget raising red flags over unplanned spending, it remains to be seen if any action will be taken to rein in these expenses. For now, the numbers speak for themselves – our leaders are spending millions on trips while the ordinary mwananchi struggles to make ends meet.
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