Ruto’s costly foreign trips putting the Treasury in a tight spot
Ruto's costly foreign trips placing the Treasury in a fix situation over the pledge to cut the budget by Ksh 300B according to analysts
Ruto’s costly foreign trips placing the Treasury in a fix situation over the pledge to cut the budget by Ksh 300B according to analysts
President William Ruto’s pledge to slash Ksh300 billion from the budget to relieve Kenya’s spending and borrowing pressures is likely to be hampered by a number of foreign trips.
President Ruto has made over ten foreign trips in just over 70 days in office, the most recent of which was to the United States on an invitation from President Joe Biden.
Analysts argue that his foreign trips will jeopardize his efforts to cut the budget by Ksh300 billion, as promised during a joint parliamentary sitting.
“I have instructed Treasury to work with Ministries to find at least Ksh300 billion in this year’s budget so that we can remove it because the market cannot sustain the kind of borrowing we are doing as a government,” Ruto stated.
Tax and governance expert Sam Okumu told local media that Ruto’s trips were putting the National Treasury in a tight spot.
According to Okumu, Ruto’s entourage contributes to the government’s increased spending on cross-border travel.
Most of the time, Ruto travels on chartered flights and is escorted by presidential aides while abroad.
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“When evaluating the cost, we look at his entourage. If he is accompanied by MPs who are not in any way related to the trip also contributes to the ballooning traveling cost,” Okumu said.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime spent over Ksh63.6 million on foreign trips just three months after the pandemic in 2020, according to data from the Controller of Budget (CoB).
The figure exceeded the Ksh6 billion spent during a comparable period in 2019.
The tax expert, on the other hand, insisted that Ruto set a good example by reducing the number of foreign trips.
In reference to a case in Tanzania, Okumu stated that President Samia Suluhu Hassan avoids some trips in order to alleviate the country’s inflationary pressures.
“It is all about taking the lead while implementing some of these policies. Because how can he institute reforms and fail to abide by them?” Okumu posed.
“The excuse of going out there to look for funds contradicts his policies which he adopted during campaigns. He made it clear that he would avoid external borrowings totally; it is like speaking from both sides of the mouth,” Okumu stated while castigating the head of state for neglecting his policies.
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