Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have overspent by Sh4.33 billion on travel expenses between July and September, as revealed in a report from the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o.

This marks an increase from last year’s expenditure during the same period when the MDAs spent Sh3.37 billion in the financial year 2022/2023.

The breakdown of the expenditure includes domestic travel expenses of Sh3.16 billion and foreign travel costs of Sh1.17 billion.

According to the report, "In the first three months of FY 2023/24, travelling expenditure was Sh4.33 billion, compared to Sh3.37 billion recorded in FY 2022/23."

This increase comes at a time when the government has suspended all non-essential travel for government officials to save on costs.

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In a circular, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei announced restrictions on delegations accompanying high-ranking officials during foreign trips, stating, "Non-essential travel that has been suspended includes benchmarking, study visits, training programmes, research activities, academic meetings, symposia, conferences, general participation meetings, showcase events, exhibitions, caucus and association meetings, and related events."

Nyakang’o also warned about challenges hindering effective budget implementation, including hidden budgets and overbudgeting.

The report reveals that the total expenditure for the government for the first three months between July to September is Sh784.18 billion, with Sh83.70 billion on MDA’s development expenditure and Sh700.48 billion on recurrent expenditure.

The challenges highlighted in the report include "low revenue performance, ‘hidden’ budget deficits, low budget absorption, a spike in travel expenses and an increase in outstanding pending bills."

Regarding overbudgeting of salaries and allowances, the report states, "The National Treasury should ensure the budget is as realistic as possible. In the meantime, appropriate reallocation should be done through a supplementary budget to avoid over budgeting."

This comes after Nyakang’o revealed in November how the National Treasury over-budgeted her salary by three times, possibly costing the country over Sh1 billion taxpayer’s money.

Among the high spenders in recurrent expenditure, the report shows that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) spent Sh58.13 billion in the first quarter, followed by the Ministry of Defence Sh34.4 billion while State Department for Higher Education and Research Sh33.36 billion came third.

On development expenditure, the top five high spenders include the State Department for Economic Planning Sh13.94 billion, followed by Roads Sh13.36 billion, the Transport sector Sh7.12 billion, crop development Sh6.80 billion, and State Department for irrigation Sh6.01 billion.

"The highest development expenditure categories included capital transfers by the MDAs at Sh72.09 billion, followed by Construction and Civil works at Sh2.64 billion, representing 85.6 per cent and 3.2 per cent of the gross development expenditure, respectively," the report stated.

The National Treasury, the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration, the National Police Service, and the National Assembly recorded high expenditures.

The National Treasury recorded an expenditure of Sh4.33 billion comprising Sh4.10 billion for security operations, Sh169.06 million for temporary committee charges, contracted professional services Sh22.48 million, contracted technical services Sh 9.17 million, and Sh 7.44 million for parking charges.

In light of these findings, the report emphasizes the importance of realistic budgeting, prudent financial management, and the necessity for government entities to adhere to cost-saving measures.