Controller of Budget raises alarm after Gov’t spends Ksh.9.5B on local, foreign trips

Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang'o has sounded a warning over wastage in government, especially on loan commitment fees and foreign and domestic travel.

Nyakang'o, who appeared before the National Assembly committee on public debt and privatization on Friday, says reducing non-essential expenditure will help reduce the budget deficit and ultimately reduce the debt servicing burden.

She warned that the country is staring at bigger problems if government fails to tame the growing appetite for foreign and domestic travel and other forms of wastefulness.

The CoB says the focus of the government should be on travel which in this financial year has consumed more than Ksh.9.5 billion.

"I was lucky to go to Turkey last year on an ICPAK trip, the whole room was full of Kenyans and was being facilitated by a Kenyan so what you ask yourself is, why didn’t these people sit in Mombasa and have a Kenyan facilitate them? Did they have to fly to Istandbul?” Posed Nyakang’o.

Another avenue which is costing taxpayers money is commitment fees on loans despite cases of poor project readiness, delayed disbursements of the cash sought and inefficiencies in loan utilization.

In the first nine months of the financial year 2024/25, Kenya paid Ksh.770.5 million as commitment fees.

"We found out that we sign loans before the project implementors are ready so they are surprised to be told there is money here for you so can you start, they say woow we didn't know there was money, so we have this problem where the sinking of the funds is not aligned to project readiness,” revealed Nyakang’o.

The move, she says, adds pressure to the debt servicing burden which if not addressed will likely lead to the country defaulting on its obligation.

"If we continue doing the wrong things then we are headed in the route of defaulting, but if we amend our ways and start doing the right thing, and I have just said if we go to the TSA, we will make massive savings and we will not need to borrow as much,” she said.

Nyakang'o also pointed at rising salaries, allowances and miscellaneous costs projected to grow from Ksh.4.08 billion to Ksh.4.67 billion. This comes on the backdrop of reduced disbursement of pensions and gratuities.

In the first nine months of this financial year, only Ksh.115 billion was disbursed against Ksh.223 billion which was provided.

"Just when we have collected enough from KRA to pay something like pensions, you know what happens, I find six requests for article 223 people need to spend outside the budget and they need now, today that is what article 223 means,” said Nyakang’o.

The Controller of Budget now wants the government to conduct rigorous debt audits which should guide future borrowing and repayment strategies.