The push for austerity measures in government against the backdrop of a bloated public wage bill and wasteful spending has also turned the spotlight on the cost of running the foreign missions.
Kenya’s export destinations have not expanded much, with only 12 countries accounting for 70 percent of total exports in 2020.
The emphasis put on economic diplomacy in Kenya’s foreign relations by recent administrations means that embassies have to show performance on trade, investment and other economic indicators to justify their presence.
The push for austerity measures in government against the backdrop of a bloated public wage bill and wasteful spending has also turned the spotlight on the cost of running the foreign missions.
A review of the foreign missions’ performance on trade by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has revealed that Kenya’s wide global footprint hasn’t translated into economic diplomacy gains and is therefore not value for money.
The PBO found that despite having 61 missions, including consulates and liaison offices spread across the five continents, the country’s trade in those countries had not improved significantly.
Kenya’s export destinations have not expanded much, with only 12 countries accounting for 70 percent of total exports in 2020.
Given these measly export figures, it is hard to fault the parliamentary advisory body’s recommendation that some of the foreign missions be closed and citizens of those countries hired as consuls.
Honorary consuls are ordinarily only reimbursed for services rendered, saving the countries which engage them the huge costs of running a fully-fledged mission.
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for instance, would worry less about the growing rent bill that has seen it ask the Treasury for a Sh5 billion allocation annually for the next 15 years to purchase properties to host foreign mission staff.
The ministry would also save on maintenance costs at some of foreign missions where the Auditor-General says structures are falling apart.
In regions where the country’s interests can be efficiently served by a single diplomatic mission the government should also consider merging embassies.
A number of much richer Western countries have their diplomatic affairs in the East African region handled by staff stationed in their embassies in Kenya.
The embassy of Switzerland in Nairobi, for example, also serves Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Somalia. Kenya need not look too far for models to benchmark its economic diplomacy.
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