The new report by Kenya’s Controller of Budget (CoB) has revealed that the country’s regional administrations spent over KSh 822 million on foreign travel in just the last six months. This figure stands in direct contradiction to the strict national directive issued by President William Ruto, which urged government institutions to reduce unnecessary expenditures and implement austerity measures.
Presented by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, the report covers the first half of the 2025/2026 financial year, highlighting that spending on international “benchmarking” trips remains extremely high even while basic development projects have stalled in many counties.
The report identifies Lamu County as the top spender in this category. The county spent KSh 65.4 million to send officials to Arusha, Tanzania, five consecutive times for “oversight and accountability training.” Meru County followed in second place, spending KSh 63.72 million on 18 separate trips, during which members of the county assembly repeatedly visited countries such as Dubai, Singapore, Germany, Turkey, and Ethiopia.
Other counties, including Nakuru, Nyeri, and Mombasa, were also noted in detail for spending millions of shillings on foreign travel.
When examining the breakdown of budget utilization, County Assemblies took the lion’s share of the travel budget, accounting for KSh 511 million (62%). In contrast, while 41 counties were active in global travel, the report exposed that 20 counties—including Trans-Nzoia, Kisumu, and Turkana—failed to spend a single cent on development projects during the first quarter.
This “travel over development” approach is drawing heavy criticism from economic experts and the general public alike. As Nyakang’o noted, although county governments spent a total of KSh 192.59 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, the utilization of funds for actual development remains alarmingly low.
Amidst this widespread extravagance, six counties have set an example for others by adhering to the President’s austerity measures and recording zero expenditure on foreign travel. These counties are Homabay, Kwale, Isiolo, Siaya, Mandera, and Murang’a. By choosing to allocate public funds to essential services rather than international trips, these regions have demonstrated the austerity directive in practice.
