Ministries defy Rotich as spending on travel, hospitality increases to Sh6bn

Travel, hospitality and training spending by ministries for the nine months to March rose by nearly a third to Sh6.79 billion despite a Treasury directive requiring them to cut the expenditure by up to 30 per cent and free cash for projects.

Data from the Controller of Budget shows the expenditure on the three items rose 29 per cent from Sh5.2 billion in a similar period for the 2013/14 fiscal year.

Last month, Treasury secretary Henry Rotich told Parliament that spending on these items was cut by between 10 and 30 per cent.

The report comes as Kenya struggles to implement austerity measures prompted by underperformance in tax revenue collection, which was Sh37 billion below target in the nine months to March.

The Presidency, which comprises President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office and that of his deputy, William Ruto, used Sh1.13 billion on travel and hospitality in the nine months, a growth of 132 per cent compared to a similar period a year earlier.

The ministry of Foreign Affairs spent Sh1 billion on the three items, up from Sh531 million. Treasury’s expenditure also rose marginally from Sh184 million to Sh188 million.

The Sh6.79 billion excludes Parliament that spent Sh2.9 billion on the three items.

The government has in the last two years attempted to introduce cost-cutting to free up cash for development, with limited success. However, plans to cut print advertisement budget by 50 per cent in shift to digital platforms have borne fruit.

The budget for adverts dropped to Sh1 billion in 2013/2014 from Sh2.8 billion in the previous year. In the nine months to March 2015, this stood at Sh537 million.