Govt spent Ksh.429B in 3 months, Controller of budget reveals

A report by the Controller of Budget has revealed massive spending by the national government despite austerity measures put in place last year to curb wastage of public funds.

The report reveals that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has spent Ksh.429 billion in just three months, with a big chunk of the money going into paying salaries.

In the report prepared between July 1 and September 30 last year — which marks the 1st quarter  of the 2018-2019 financial year — the Controller of Budget is raising a red flag on glaring inconsistencies on how public resources are being utilized by the national government.

Semi-autonomous government agencies came in second gobbling Ksh.55.5 billion, while foreign and domestic travel closing the list of top three spenders.

Government departments used Ksh.2.9 billion of tax payers money within three months to travel far and wide.

The report also reveals that some Ksh.1.7 billion was used for local travel by public officers, while Ksh.1.1 billion was used for foreign travel.

Members of Parliament have been named in the report as the highest spenders on domestic travel, with the National Assembly using a staggering Ksh.669.9 million for local travel alone.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its part has been named in the report as the top spender when it comes to foreign travel, flushing close to half a billion shillings in the skies within three months.

The spending spree coming in the wake of a directive by  President Uhuru Kenyatta, who in 2018 ordered pubic officers to cease foreign trips as part of austerity measures to save the country billions of shillings.

The head of state had directed that all trips must be approved after review of the trips benefit to the tax payer.

The Controller of Budget has also listed the Ministry of Interior under the stewardship of Dr. Fred Matiang’i as one of the highest spending ministries during the period under review. Ksh.186 million was paid out for trainings while Ksh.199.8 million was used for motor vehicle maintenance over the three month period.

In addition, the Interior Ministry in a period of three months, paid Ksh.194.5 million as legal fees.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is also in the top list after spending Ksh.636 million on rent, Ksh.409 million on foreign travel and Ksh.15 million for advertising.

The report also indicates that renting of houses by government cost Ksh.1.4 billion, meaning each month for that period, the government paid Ksh.466 million for rent alone. Hotel conferencing and catering cost 718 million.

Recurrent expenditure has also been a thorn in the flesh of government. In the Controller of Budget report, the Teachers Service Commission leads the pack at Ksh.58.2 billion, followed by the Ministry of Defence at Ksh.30.2 billion, while the department of early learning coughed Ksh.24.7 billion.

The state department of interior comes in fourth with some Ksh.17.8 billion in the three months under review.