Treasury saves Sh1.5bn on Covid-19 travel ban

The National Treasury building. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By JOHN MUTUA
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Summary

• Controller of Budget (CoB) report shows that taxpayers spent Sh3.5 billion on travel, trainings and hospitality in the period, down from Sh5.01 billion in similar period last year.
• Allowances paid to civil workers for attending trainings and seminars fell 84 percent to Sh109.2 million in the period, from Sh683.7 million in the three months to September last year, the highest drop for the three perks in the period.
• Travel allowance for local and foreign trips fell to Sh2.67 billion from Sh3.53 billion in similar period a year earlier, while hospitality allowances fell to Sh726.9 million from Sh806.1 million.

Taxpayers saved Sh1.513 billion on travel, training and hospitality perks for civil service in the three months to September in the wake of restrictions imposed to curb spread of the Covid-19 disease.

Controller of Budget (CoB) report shows that taxpayers spent Sh3.5 billion on travel, trainings and hospitality in the period, down from Sh5.01 billion in similar period last year.

Allowances paid to civil workers for attending trainings and seminars fell 84 percent to Sh109.2 million in the period, from Sh683.7 million in the three months to September last year, the highest drop for the three perks in the period.

Travel allowance for local and foreign trips fell to Sh2.67 billion from Sh3.53 billion in similar period a year earlier, while hospitality allowances fell to Sh726.9 million from Sh806.1 million.

The fall came in the wake of curbs imposed to check spread of Covid-19 where State offices cancelled trips and seminars.

Kenya suspended international passenger travel, closed schools indefinitely, shut down bars and golf clubs and imposed a daily dusk-to-dawn curfew as well as banning public gatherings to curb the spread of the virus. The pause in meetings denied national government and parastatals staff opportunities to boost their wages through perks such as mileage, sitting and subsistence allowances earned from local and foreign travels.

“Some budget items recorded low levels of expenditure, which was attributed to the impact of Covid-19 mitigation measures adopted by the government to curb the spread of the disease,” Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o says in the report.

“The expenses included travelling, training and hospitality activities which are usually significant spending budget items by Ministries Departments Agencies.”

Senior civil servants earn up to Sh22,000 for a day’s stay in Naivasha, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nairobi, Kilifi, Lamu and Kwale — explaining why these towns have become popular with government retreats.

The lowest-cadre worker travelling to these towns is entitled to a Sh4,200 allowance daily.

Senior civil servants earn Sh18,000 per day for retreats held in Nyeri, Eldoret, Kericho, Kakamega, Kilifi, Embu, Nanyuki, Nakuru, Lodwar and Garissa. The lowest-ranking officials earn Sh3, 500.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a phased easing of the restrictions in July that included resumption of foreign and domestic flights.

Treasury said restrictions on meetings, travel and trainings for civil servants will remain in the coming months as part of reducing the country’s spending on non-core items.