CS halts foreign trips for State officers
What you need to know:
This is part of a raft of measures aimed at dealing with ballooning public expenditure.
Accounting officers of various government ministries and agencies have been ordered to conduct all government-sponsored trainings in the country.
The Treasury chief has also asked that the number of officers in government delegations on foreign trips abroad be minimised.
The government has suspended all benchmarking and study tours with immediate effect.
It has also limited government delegates for missions abroad to a maximum of four, restricted domestic air travel to economy class and slashed purchases of newspapers and furniture by 75 per cent.
The raft of measures seeks to restrict government spending within its means.
TRAINING
In a September 25 circular communicating a Cabinet decision to all government agencies and departments that will also affect the Judiciary and the Legislature, acting Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has announced nine measures in another attempt to deal with a bloated public expenditure.
The measures will affect training, provision of newspapers to staff, foreign travel and air travel, airtime, publicity and advertisement, acquisition of motor vehicles, renting and partitioning of offices, purchase of furniture and restricted use of government transport.
Accounting officers of various government ministries and agencies have been ordered to conduct all government-sponsored trainings in the country, particularly at the Kenya School of Government and other government training institutions, except for highly specialised courses.
The measures take place immediately.
The government has ordered that provision of newspapers to all categories of staff be rationalised to restrict the spending to a quarter of the current budget. This means purchases will be slashed by 75 per cent.
The Treasury chief has also asked that the number of officers in government delegations on foreign trips abroad be minimised.
BENCHMARKING
Entities should instead use technology and transact business through teleconference or use foreign missions and embassies abroad to transact government business, Mr Yatani said.
Delegations led by Cabinet secretaries should not exceed four persons, including the CS, while those led by principal secretaries or chief executives will comprise a maximum of three, including the team leader.
International meetings, workshops, seminars and study tours will also be justified in terms of the benefits to the people of Kenya. Benchmarking and study tours are suspended until further notice, the CS’s circular says.
He adds: “Accounting officers should review the quantum of airtime given to staff with a view to initially reducing it by 30 per cent and encourage use of Internet calls and other cheaper options.”
He also asked accounting officers to stop the usage of newspaper supplements to publicise strategic plans, service charters or events, but instead use websites of ministries.
GOVT VEHICLES
The government also slashed provisions for purchase of furniture by 75 per cent for the next three years. Any new purchase will also be restricted to locally-manufactured products.
“Despite the existing guidelines on use of government transport, a number of government vehicles are still being spotted on the roads before and after official working hours and during weekends carrying officers who are not on official duty,” the circular reads.
The CS wants the practice to stop forthwith such that use of government transport outside official working hours will be by written authority from the accounting officers.
In addition, civilian number plates on government vehicles should also be restricted.
“[The measures] will ensure that the government operates within its financial means and maintains macroeconomic stability,” Mr Yatani said.
