WAKE-UP KENYANS – This is how government is wasting your taxes

Despite public outcry over the broadening tax burden and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tough talk on graft, a new report has exposed the lavish expenditure of billions by government agencies on non-essential goods and services.

Parliament, the presidency and IEBC top the list of profligate expenditure, according to the latest report by Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo.

Image result for President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto lay a foundation stone for AIC Kapsabet.

Parliament alone gobbled up Sh4.3 billion on both domestic and foreign trips, making it the single largest spender on travel.

The presidency, comprising Uhuru’s office, Deputy President Ruto and the Cabinet office, spent Sh725 million on local travel and a further Sh99.4 million on foreign trips.

Last year, Uhuru and Ruto faced a barrage of accusations for using state resources to oil the Jubilee election machine.

Image result for President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto lay a foundation stone for AIC Kapsabet.

The claim featured prominently at the Supreme Court. It was also the subject of a court case filed by the Katiba Institute, which challenged the use of public resources in the ‘Government of Kenya Delivers’ publicity blitz.

On domestic travels, the Parliamentary Service Commission led the pack, spending Sh1 billion and another Sh596 million on trips abroad in the 2017-18 financial year.

The 349-member National Assembly spent Sh1.9 billion on local travel and Sh719 million on trips overseas.

Much of the Sh1.9 billion local travel budget is made up of MPs’ mileage claims for trips made to their constituencies — an allowance that has often featured fictitious mileage claims over the decades.

The Parliamentary Service Commission does not make public the details of lawmakers’ mileage claims, including how much each MP was paid during a specified reporting period.

Image result for President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto lay a foundation stone for AIC Kapsabet.

However, there have been claims that some MPs claim as much as Sh1.5 million monthly, without any proof that they indeed traveled to their constituencies.

Last month, the government slapped Kenyans with an eight per cent VAT levy on petroleum products and a couple of levies that have seen the cost of living skyrocket.

The move triggered a huge public backlash, with Uhuru publicly promising sweeping austerity measures.

The new report shows how government ministries and agencies devoted substantial resources to non-essentials in the just-ended election year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, spent Sh800 million on foreign trips alone.

Image result for President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto lay a foundation stone for AIC Kapsabet.

In total, government agencies swallowed Sh8.6 billion on domestic travel and a further Sh3.6 billion on foreign travels.

One of the biggest culprits is the presidency which, the report shows, spent Sh1.4 billion on hospitality. This entails entertainment of guests, decorations and catering services.

 

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