Kenyan MPs Spend Sh508 Million on Foreign Travel in Three Months

Kenyan Members of Parliament spent a staggering Sh508 million on foreign travel in a period of three months in 2018.

In a report, the Controller of Budget (CoB) says MPs and other top Parliament officials spent 508.6 million in the three months to September 2018, representing a 398 percent increase in foreign travel budget in comparison to the same period in 2017.

During the same period in the previous year, the parliamentarians only spent Sh102.9 million on foreign travel.

This means that MPs spent more on foreign travel than Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has most of its official duties abroad.

In the same quarter, the Ambassador Monica Juma-led Ministry spent Sh409.3 million, Sh100 million less than what MPs spent.

Similarly, the Ministry of Sports which equally has several engagements outside the country spent Sh70.8 million on foreign trips.

MPs spent a further Sh669.9 million on their local trips, bringing their total travel budget to more than Sh1 billion.

This defies President Kenyatta's calls for a cut on non-essential expenditure even as the government continues to grapple with a huge budget deficit.

"These budget cuts ask of us in government that we tighten our belts. It also ensures the sacrifices made by tax-compliant Kenyans are matched by discipline from all of us in the public service," Kenyatta said in September.