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The Kenya Police Service (KPS) is seeking an additional Sh1.4 billion in both the supplementary estimates and incoming 2024/25 budget for presidential coverage and escort services.

Out of the Sh1.4 billion, in the supplementary estimates, the service is seeking Sh 630.8 million for presidential coverage and VVIP protection comprising of presidential escort unit, General Service Unit (GSU) Recce and G-company, Sh1.5 million to facilitate communication in Presidential Escort Unit and Sh118.5 million for domestic travel and subsistence and other transportation costs due to increased presidential activities and protection of Very Very Important Persons (VVIP).

Documents tabled before MPs shows that the increase is due to increased presidential movements and other VVIP activities leading to increased coverage costs by Presidential Escort Unit and GSU recce and G-company.

Reads the document: “We request for kind consideration of the underfunded areas highlighted in the report and commit that these funds will be utilized prudently in an efficient, economical and effective manner to enhance service delivery by the NPS.”

Presidential escort

In the incoming 2024/2025 budget, the documents tabled by NPS accounting office Bernice Lemedeket, shows that the service is seeking an additional Sh629.64 million for presidential escort unit and Recce and G company.

 The report in total shows that the most critical underfunded areas amount to Sh25.3 billion and Sh3.7 billion for both recurrent and development, respectively.

The service also requires an additional Sh9 billion for Insurance for NPS and Kenya Prisons Service, purchase of uniforms for Kenya Police Service Sh1,2 billion, purchase of uniform and clothing staff for Administration Police Service and Sh1.8 billion for the recruitment of 5,000 police constable as they were only allocated Sh3.15 billion against a requirement of Sh5.03 billion.

Recruitment

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome said that the total required amount for the recruitment of Police officers is Sh5.03 billion which will be used to purchase uniforms, ammunition, food and rations, stipends for the trainees and utilities.

He said: “What we know is that NPS has made requests of 5,000 officers and not 10 000. The commission came here without uniformed officers and gave their own figure.”

To fund National Police Reserve, the service require an additional Sh1 billion, to finance security operations by the NPS, KPS APs and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) they require Sh3 billion while to finance the National Police Air wing they require an additional Sh1 billion.

Lemedeket told MPs that reduction of insurance by 50 percent will significantly affect the provision of insurance to cover NPS and prison officers which will in turn affect their morale.

On the NPS Air wing, she regretted that although it has been allocated Sh119 million, the said monies is not sufficient to cater for fuel, maintenance, overhaul of aircrafts, continuous training of police pilots, licenses and insurance as they require Sh2.4 billion.

She also cited other areas that have been under budgeted that will affect the attainment of performance targets including lack of adequate funds to lease more vehicles and insufficient fuel allocation for the leased motor vehicles as currently only 450 litres are allocated per vehicle per month, in adequate funding for operations and maintenance for the National Forensic Laboratory especially laboratory consumables as well as lack of adequate funds to pay pending bill of Sh948 million for the National Police Hospital that is required to be cleared before handover.

She said: “There is an increase of Sh119 Million under the recurrent vote for the National Police Service air wing which has been transferred back to NPS from the ministry of Interior.

The government’s promise to increase salaries of police and prisons officers’s salaries by at least 40 percent this financial year may come a cropper after the National Treasury failed to include the Sh15 billion  required to implement the Justice (Rtd) David Maraga Task Force report.

President William Ruto while officially receiving the report last year, had promised that officers in NPS, Kenya Prisons Service and the National Youth Service (NYS) would get a 40 percent salary hike as recommended by the Justice Maraga report.