Uhuru, Ruto half year catering cost jumps to Sh667m

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By LYNET IGADWAH

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Summary

• The Presidency – which comprises the offices of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto –spent Sh666.9 million on hospitality in the half year, up from Sh360 million in a similar period a year earlier, according the Controller of Budget report.
• The 85 per cent rise in spending on hospitality, which includes drinks and catering, came in a period when the two crisscrossed the country in search of votes as they sought a second term.
• The prolonged election period started ahead of the August 8 General election and continued to the end of November when Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner after the repeat October 26 presidential vote.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, nearly doubled the entertainment budget in the six months to December when the country experienced a prolonged and volatile election period.

The Presidency – which comprises the offices of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto –spent Sh666.9 million on hospitality in the half year, up from Sh360 million in a similar period a year earlier, according the Controller of Budget report.

The 85 per cent rise in spending on hospitality, which includes drinks and catering, came in a period when the two crisscrossed the country in search of votes as they sought a second term.

The prolonged election period started ahead of the August 8 General election and continued to the end of November when Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner after the repeat October 26 presidential vote.

The Supreme Court nullified the August 9 poll over irregularities, triggering another round of political campaigns.

At Sh666.9 million, the Presidency’s entertainment budget accounted for 25.7 per cent of the Sh2.6 billion that public offices spent on parties and receptions in the period.

Controller of Budget has picked hospitality among the budget items with significant expenditure alongside domestic travel and training.

Besides the Presidency, the only ministry that spent more than Sh100 million on hospitality is Foreign Affairs at Sh246.3 million.

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto’s increased travel during the campaign period is reflected in the rise in the domestic trip expenditure to Sh432.5 million in the six months to December, up from Sh181.6 million in the same period a year earlier.

Mr Kenyatta had previously called for trimming of expenditure on non-essential items, at some point even asking top State officials to take 20 per cent pay cut in part of efforts to tame high recurrent expenditure.

The Treasury has in the past four years struggled to implement austerity measures prompted by underperformance in revenue collection amid rising expenditure.

The Jubilee government early in 2014 announced a tight austerity programme.

This included pay cuts for top officials, lower entertainment expenditure and curb in trips expenditure with only essential international travel allowed.

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