'A CS carried 4 women on a trip, others have coffee in Dubai,' Senator Onyonka says on gov't travel ban

According to Onyonka, public money was recklessly being used on needless lavish ventures and it was time the government put a cap on the excess.

He even claimed that a Cabinet Secretary made international trips with "girlfriends" to attend sports events and other leaders just went to Dubai to "have coffee".

Speaking on Citizen TV's Daybreak show on Tuesday, the legislator said that the government was wasting a colossal amount of public money that would better benefit other sectors and foster growth.

"This morning I'm actually very happy, I don't know whether you can see my face. I'm glowing. This is the nonsense we need to stop in our country. This thing where we take public money and behave as if it's money in our kitty where you think you can travel just to go and have coffee in Dubai for a weekend," he said.

"Why would a government CS carry four women on a trip to go and attend sports? Why are we the way we are?"

Onyonka further noted that the government must be prudent in how it spends public funds, especially at a time when an all-time high taxation policy has been implemented as Kenyans are grappling with the high cost of living.

"The amount of money we are wasting is close to Ksh.42 billion a year on travelling. Why can't we pay our ECDE teachers, nurses and CECs," he said. 

"Taxes are being increased, we are overborrowing, we have surpassed every ceiling that we are supposed to maintain and control and then we are busy spending public money just travelling the world."

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei on Monday announced that the suspended non-essential travels include benchmarking, study visits, trainings and related capacity-building initiatives as well as research, academic meetings and symposia.

Others include conferences and meetings of general participation, side events such as showcase events and exhibitions as well as caucus and association meetings and events.

He added that the government has also announced restrictions on delegations accompanying the President, Deputy President, First Lady and Prime Cabinet Secretaries for foreign trips.

Likewise, delegations involving both Cabinet and Principal Secretaries shall be restricted to the three (3) person limit.