A new and damning report by the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o revealed that governors and Members of County Assembly (MCAs) spent a staggering Sh17.60 billion on travel during the 2023-24 financial year.
The report highlights wasteful spending on both domestic and international trips, which totaled Sh15.28 billion for local travel and Sh2.32 billion for foreign excursions.
Nyakang’o pointed out the excessive nature of these expenses, raising concerns about the financial management in counties, especially considering that many counties have been unable to pay workers for several months due to a cash shortage.
Among the biggest spenders were Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, both of whom spent over Sh1 billion each on travel. Turkana County led with Sh1.19 billion, of which Sh943.44 million was spent on domestic trips and Sh248.98 million on foreign travel. Nairobi followed closely with Sh1.18 billion, allocating Sh861.57 million for domestic and Sh328.33 million for international travel.
Other counties with high travel expenditures included Machakos (Sh801.44 million), Nakuru (Sh647.02 million), and West Pokot (Sh601.76 million). Nairobi also topped the list for foreign travel, spending Sh328.33 million on international trips, with Machakos and Kitui spending Sh148.68 million and Sh128.4 million, respectively.
Nyakang’o’s report also highlighted the extravagant size of delegations, which exacerbated the costs. For instance, 19 officials from Nairobi traveled to Morocco for 10 days, racking up a Sh37.23 million bill. In another case, eight officials from Nairobi attended a six-day conference in the UAE, costing Sh29.77 million.
Other questionable trips included 50 officials from Meru going to Arusha for training, costing Sh10.67 million, and five executive officers from Siaya attending a conference in Iran, spending Sh3.57 million.
Nyakang’o advised county governments to reduce travel expenses by holding events locally and reallocating funds towards essential development programs.
This report comes just after a recent expose revealed how national government officials have also been engaging in wasteful travel expenditures, despite efforts by President William Ruto’s administration to impose austerity measures.
