Counties across Kenya are spending huge sums on domestic and foreign travel, raising questions about priorities as development projects remain delayed and wage arrears persist.
According to the latest County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report, officials racked up billions on travel, with Nairobi, Machakos, and Kitui topping the list of spenders.
Nairobi City County led domestic travel spending with Sh630.3 million, divided between Sh271.3 million by the County Assembly and Sh359.1 million by the Executive. Machakos County followed closely, using Sh532 million for local trips and Sh99 million for foreign visits to countries including Brazil, Dubai, Albania, and China.
Kitui County emerged as the highest overall spender, releasing Sh709.95 million from its exchequer.
Of this, Sh536.9 million was used for domestic travel while Sh72 million funded foreign engagements, including visits to Turkey, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
In Mombasa, officials spent Sh112 million traveling abroad to destinations such as Turkey, Spain, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
Other counties that recorded heavy travel spending included Kakamega, West Pokot, Kisumu, Nandi, Laikipia, and Nyandarua. Combined, their travel budgets surpassed Ksh1 billion.
In several cases, travel expenses by County Assemblies alone exceeded allocations for vital sectors like water and agriculture, highlighting a mismatch in budgetary priorities.
The report also revealed that despite these large travel bills, many counties are still struggling with incomplete projects, unpaid suppliers, and delayed salaries.
Counties collectively spent Sh346.98 billion on recurrent costs during the fiscal year, representing 74 per cent of total expenditure. Most of this was directed to salaries and operational expenses rather than development.
Nairobi City County registered the highest recurrent expenditure at Sh29.43 billion, of which Sh18.3 billion went to employee compensation and Sh11.13 billion covered operations and maintenance.
Analysts warn that continued focus on recurrent costs over development could slow growth and service delivery at the county level.
