The Kenyan government is cracking down on publicly-funded foreign travel for officials in a bid to rein in spending, according to a circular issued Tuesday by Felix Koskei, the chief of staff and head of the public service.
The move aims “to scale down and prioritize spending, focusing on the critical operations and activities that are essential to service delivery to the citizen,” the circular said. It cited the prudent use of public money as stipulated in Article 201(d) of the Kenyan constitution as justification.
Under the new rules, foreign travel will only be approved for events “in which the Government of Kenya’s participation is: Part of fulfilment of state obligations, and pursuant to the conduct of critical state party engagements; and for the purpose of fulfilling a statutory leadership or membership role, in which critical decisions impacting on the country’s position are under consideration,” the memo said.
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The crackdown applies to “benchmarking and study visits; trainings and related capacity building initiatives; research, academic meetings and symposia; conferences and meetings of general participation; side events, showcase events and exhibitions; and caucus and association meetings and events,” the circular stated.
According to the memo, delegations headed by Cabinet Secretaries shall not exceed three persons including the Cabinet Secretary as Head of Delegation. Where the Cabinet Secretary is to be accompanied, at least one of the delegates shall be a technical officer specialized in the subject matter of the foreign engagement, with no security or personal assistants other than exempted personnel.
For delegations headed by Principal Secretaries, they shall not exceed two persons, including the Head of Delegation. Where the Principal Secretary is to be accompanied, the delegate shall be a technical officer specialized in the subject matter of engagement, with no security or personal assistants other than exempted personnel, the circular stipulated.
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Delegations headed by Governors of County Governments shall not exceed three persons including the Governor as Head of Delegation, and shall remain guided by the tenets of an earlier 2015 circular, it stated.
The memo also restricted the number of delegates for heads of independent constitutional commissions, state corporation CEOs and other officials.
In addition, “The period of travel as stipulated in circulars nos. OP/CAB.1/7A of 26th January 2015 and OP/CAB. 304/018 of 29th June 2023 is revised to seven (7) days inclusive of travel dates,” compared to more generous limits previously, the new circular said.
Koskei directed government agencies to “equitably rationalize by fifty percent (50%), all foreign and local travel budgets” in a bid to realize savings.
The crackdown aims to “foster orderly conduct of Kenya’s foreign engagements, while remaining mindful of the principles of prudence, efficiency, and effectiveness,” the memo concluded.
