Ksh.100M for choppers, Ksh.350M for hospitality: Kindiki's office seeks Ksh.1.8B in supplementary budget

The Office of the Deputy President is seeking an additional supplementary budget of Ksh.1.8 billion, that is in addition to the Ksh.3 billion allocated in the last financial year to cover operations, staff salaries and compensation, travel and official events.

Members of the National Assembly’s Administration and Internal Security committee questioned the supplementary budget request from the Deputy President’s office, particularly an additional Ksh.100 million for air travel, Ksh.350 million for hospitality and events and ksh.200 million for local travel.

Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu posed: “What specific activities justify this increase in hospitality spending, and could the accounting officer itemize them?”

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma chimed: “Who are these new employees? What is their number, and what are they being paid?”

Moses Mbaruku, the Principal Administrative Secretary in Office of the DP, stated: “On the hiring of choppers, the money that was appropriated was Ksh.150 million, and we are now seeking an additional Ksh.100 million. That is subject to approval by this committee.”

The Office of the Deputy President said the supplementary budget request has been necessitated by the need to first settle pending bills, which consumed a large portion of the initial allocation.

“We closed the financial year with Ksh.472 million as pending bills, which formed the first charge on our budget. That is why we are requesting additional funds,” said Mbaruku.

The supplementary proposals come against the backdrop of a report by the Controller of Budget indicating that Ksh.44 million had been spent on the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President, which sparked public outrage among Kenyans over ridiculous spending.

Mbaruku however dismissed the claims, saying the amount was erroneously included in the report by Office of the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o.

“The Controller of Budget erroneously captured that we spent money on the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President. We do not have such an office because it was scrapped during the 2024/2025 financial year,” he said.