Kenya to spend Sh6.9bn on ambassadors’ homes, embassies

Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed. PHOTO | FILE 

By EDWIN MUTAI

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Summary

• Foreign Affairs ministry said it would be active in the property market abroad through purchase of chanceries, ambassadors’ residences and staff houses to cut down on rent costs.
• It will spend Sh1.7 billion in the year starting July, Sh3 billion in 2018 and Sh2.2 billion in the year ending June 2020. This current year they will spend Sh771 million.
• The ministry has recently been hit by financial shortfalls, hampering efforts to open new missions and trade commission offices to shore up Kenya’s international relations and economic diplomacy.

The Foreign Affairs ministry will spend Sh6.9 billion over the next three years buying properties to house Kenyan diplomats and embassies as rising rents in major world capitals eat deep into its budget.

The ministry said it would be active in the property market abroad through purchase of chanceries, ambassadors’ residences and staff houses to cut down on rent costs. It will spend Sh1.7 billion in the year starting July, Sh3 billion in 2018 and Sh2.2 billion in the year ending June 2020. This current year they will spend Sh771 million.

“Some of the challenges faced during implementation of the budget (2016/17) include the high cost of renting chanceries and staff residence in Kenyan missions abroad,” Amina Mohamed, Foreign Affairs secretary, said in the 2017/18 budget estimates.

Documents earlier tabled in Parliament show rents paid by foreign missions now account for a fifth of the ministry’s recurrent budget of Sh17.9 billion or Sh3.58 billion.

The recurrent budget has been rising over the past four years, leaving little cash for development projects such as opening new missions that are crucial for expanding Kenya’s diplomatic presence.

The ministry has recently been hit by financial shortfalls, hampering efforts to open new missions and trade commission offices to shore up Kenya’s international relations and economic diplomacy.

It was expected to open trade commission offices in key commercial capitals such as New York, Shanghai, Frankfurt, Johannesburg and Brussels, but this has not been achieved.

Now, it plans fully fledged missions in Guangzhou (China), Dakar (Senegal) and Accra (Ghana). According to the budget report, the ministry completed construction and refurbishment of its buildings in Pretoria (South Africa), London (UK), Mogadishu (Somalia), Abuja (Nigeria), Dar-es-Salaam, Islamabad (Pakistan) and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The ministry bought an ambassadors’ residence in Geneva (Switzerland) and paid 40 per cent of the contract price leaving the balance to be cleared in the next financial year. The purchase price has not been disclosed in the budget figures.

The renewed purchase and expansion of properties in Kenya’s mission abroad is likely to ignite memories of the Tokyo embassy purchase scandal in which taxpayers is alleged to have lost Sh1.1 billion.

The scandal, which was subject to a parliamentary investigations and saw eight top ministry officials charge in court, is said to have cost the taxpayer the money that saw Japanese businessman pocket bonuses totalling 319 million Japanese yen ($3.48 million).