Residents of Nyeri have asked the National Treasury to reduce allocations for travel and hospitality for President William Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

Residents said the Executive had spent a lot of money on foreign and local trips which, according to them, had no tangible benefits for Kenyans.

“On State House and the two other big offices, we are recommending that the issues of local and foreign travel and also hospitality and catering be reduced and the money should be channeled to development,” said Wachira Muchemi from Mathira.

A report by the Controller of Budget indicates that for the 2022/2023 financial year the total expenditure for the office of the President was Sh20.1 billion, with foreign travel accounting for Sh361.7 million.

The office of the President has so far spent more than Sh56 million on travel while that of the Deputy President has spent Sh40.7 million on foreign travel. The office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary spent Sh21.5 million on foreign travel.

They were speaking at the YMCA Hall in Nyeri Town during a public participation forum organised by National Treasury on the 2024/2025 budget and 2024-2027 Medium Term budgets.

The National Treasury, jointly with other State departments, has been collecting views and recommendations from members of the public from the 47 counties on nine key priority areas that they would like prioritised in the annual budget and the 2024-2027 midterm budget.

Nyumba Kumi

During the forum the residents also asked the Treasury to prioritize the release of pension for the increasing number of retirees in the next financial year.

They also recommended remuneration of Nyumba Kumi elders who, they said, assist the National Government Administrative Officers.

“We observed that the national government administration is using Wazee wa Nyumba Kumi to gather a lot of information from their areas of jurisdiction. These wazees should be remunerated so that they can continue to support service delivery by government officials,” said Wachira.

Other key recommendations included a proposal to establish a government-run rescue centre for the needy and vulnerable groups in each of the eight sub-counties and the employment of counsellors and social workers.

They also recommended that the Sh2,000 monthly stipend for the elderly and vulnerable be increased to match the current economic realities.

“The allocation of Sh2,000 monthly issued to the older persons and the vulnerable through the cash transfer program is insufficient. We need to review the allocation and increase it from Sh2,000 to Sh5,000,”said Ndegwa Kaburu, a Kieni resident.