The government of Kenya has prohibited public officials from going on unnecessary trips to other countries in order to save money.
On Monday, Felix Koskei, who is in charge of the country’s public service, announced that certain types of trips are not allowed. These include trips for learning, visiting other places to learn from them, trainings, and trips for research, improving skills, and academic events.
Conferences, meetings that anyone can attend, additional events, and events organized by small groups are also considered non-essential.
Mr Koskei told government officials to either join events online or have diplomats from their respective countries attend them.
According to news sources, people working for President William Ruto’s government spent a total of Sh14 billion Kenyan shillings.
Mr Ruto spent a total of $94 million and £78 million on travel during the first nine months of his time in office. In other words, he used this large amount of money for transportation and related expenses during that period.
Mr Koskei said that people will only be allowed to travel abroad for official government-related activities or important decisions that affect the country’s position.
He also limited the number of ministers and governors allowed to go abroad to three people. He stated that they can only stay outside the country for a maximum of seven days per trip and 45 days per year.
He said that only the people who have a direct part in planned activities will be included in the president, vice president, and first lady’s groups.
Tag: Government officials
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Kenya forbids government officials from taking non-essential trips
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Kenya suspends 27 officials due to expired sugar trade agreement
The head of Kenya’s standards authority and 26 other government employees have been suspended in connection with the market release of 1,000 tonnes of expired sugar.
A statement by the head of public service, Felix Koskei, said 20,000 bags of sugar imported into the country in 2018 and condemned by the regulator had been “irregularly diverted and unprocedurally released”.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards had then declared the sugar as unfit for human consumption and was set for destruction through conversion to industrial ethanol.
The conversion was to be undertaken jointly by regulatory agencies.
They were required to source for a distiller through an open and competitive tendering process and pay all the necessary taxes and fees.
“It is manifest that some officers in the relevant agencies abdicated their responsibilities, at the risk of public harm,” Mr Koskei said.
The suspension comes at a time when Kenyans have been hit by one of the biggest rise in prices of sugar in years amid shortage.