A new report has exposed how county governments, members of county assemblies and other officials in the devolved units splashed millions of shillings in foreign trips with little gains to county residents.
The officials blew more than Sh1 billion globetrotting in the first nine months of the 2024/ 2025 financial year, according to a report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o.
County Executive Members, MCAs and other officials of the devolved units, including governors, spent millions in the name of benchmarking, study tours, trainings and workshops. Some of the workshops were labelled "leadership" or "governance" trainings.
The Controller of Budget report has questioned why most of the trainings, meetings and workshops could not be held in towns and cities within the country. "There is a lot of wastage by counties through unnecessary foreign trips. Some of the meetings held in foreign countries can be held here in Nairobi or elsewhere locally."
In one of the counties reviewed, an official travelled to the United Kingdom to attend a meeting on pyrethrum revival. In another, an official travelled to Tanzania to learn about the use and control of the IFMIS system. Despite the hard economic times, the county officials and MCAs continued with their extravagance on foreign trips, attending meetings and workshops in foreign cities and countries. The most preferred countries and cities were Spain, United Kingdom, Dubai, Qatar, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Singapore and the USA.
The wasteful and huge spending on foreign travel amid the ongoing economic challenges in the country has now put MCAs and county officials on the spot.
President William Ruto in Kakamega on June 15, 2025. In July, 2024, he ordered budget cuts across all government units, including counties, in response to economic pressures.
Photo credit: Isaac Wale | Nation
In July, 2024, President William Ruto ordered budget cuts across all government units, including counties, in response to economic pressures and protests over the 2024 Finance Bill. He emphasised the importance of fiscal discipline to ensure the country “lives within its means”. However, the directive appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Governor Johnson Sakaja's Nairobi County was leading the more than 30 devolved units audited in this report in foreign travel expenditure, with MCAs and officials in the capital having spent Sh229.79 million in the nine months. Other counties with a high expenditure include; Machakos (Sh82 million), Lamu (Sh76 million), Kitui (Sh66 million), Mombasa (Sh59.8 million), Nakuru (Sh57 million), Nyeri (Sh55.61 million) and Kisumu (Sh51 million).
According to the report by Ms Nyakang'o, Baringo MCAs and county Assembly officials gobbled Sh19.11 million globetrotting between September 2024 and March 2025. Notably, eight MCAs spent Sh2.4 million between September 18 and 24, 2024 attending a digital conference in Rwanda.
“A month later, between November 2 and 10, ten other MCAs flew to Rwanda and spent Sh3.5 million attending a peace and conflict resolution workshop. 14 county assembly officials had between September 1 and 23 spent Sh4 million attending a strategic leadership in a political environment training as well as a training of strengthening regional integration for peace," reads part of the report.
In Bomet County, officials and MCAs spent Sh25.02 million attending trainings that could have taken place in Kenya. Between September 8 and 17, an official from Governor Hillary Barchok’s government was in the UK, attending a meeting on pyrethrum revival. The official spent Sh992,662 in the UK trip. Between November 1 and 9, twelve county assembly officials spent Sh7.3 million in Egypt, attending the UN-Habitat Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum in Cairo. Between February 7 and 14, 2025, seventeen other officials blew 10.8 million in India, attending the 38th Edition of Surakund International Crafts Mela (Fair).
In Nakuru County, officials in Governor Susan Kihika's administration and MCAs spent Sh57 million on foreign trips to London, Arusha, Singapore and Dubai. Between November 18 and 29, 2024, a county official spent Sh509,292 attending an IFMIS training (use and control) in Arusha, Tanzania. It is not clear, why the training could not be conducted in Nairobi.
The wasteful and huge spending on foreign travel amid the ongoing economic challenges in the country has now put MCAs and county officials on the spot.
Photo credit: File
In Bungoma, MCAs and county officials spent Sh12.9 million in Dubai, Singapore, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, attending meetings with little gains. During the period, county government officials and MCAs burnt Sh35.62 million globetrotting, attending trainings and workshops. "Between October 13 and 21, 2024, six county officials were in China attending a workshop on rain harvesting. The officials spent Sh3 million in the trip," the report adds.
Fourteen county officials also spent Sh6 million attending a workshop on governance in Dubai, between August 22 and 28, 2024.
Busia County sent two county officials to attend the 79th UN General Assembly in New York and they spent Sh1.8 million in the trip between September 22 and 30, 2024. On March 10, 2025, eight other county officials were in Cape Town, South Africa attending a governance summit, where they spent Sh6.7 million.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, MCAs and county assembly officials spent Sh18.5 million in Arusha, Kampala, Singapore, Dubai, Rwanda and Ethiopia, benchmarking and attending trainings and meetings. Between October 7 and 12, 2024, fourteen county assembly officials were in Arusha , for a benchmarking visit to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), where they spent Sh4.4million.
In Embu, both the executive and the county assembly spent Sh16.35 on foreign travel. Governor Cecily Mbarire sent three officials to attend COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The officials spent Sh3 million in the trip.
In Garissa, MCAs and county officials spent Sh5.7 million in attending trainings in Britain and Dubai during the period. In Kakamega County, MCAs and county officials spent Sh22.6 million on trips to Washington DC, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Malaysia.
According to the Controller of Budget, the breakdown provided on foreign travel by both the county treasury and the county assembly did not tally with the expenditure report submitted for review.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on June 4, 2024. She has questioned why most of the trainings, meetings and workshops attended by county MCAs and officials could not be held in towns and cities within the country.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation
In Kericho, county officials and MCAs gobbled Sh10.2 million in foreign trips. Governor Erick Mutai's office spent Sh1.2 million to travel to Uganda for a consultative meeting on exploration of investment opportunities. Notably, the Controller of Budget indicates that between June 10 and 19, 2024, at the height of the Gen Z-led protests in the country, two county public service board officials were in the USA, for what is termed as "Travel to USA, San Francisco for the discussions, key note speeches and presentations".
Kiambu MCAs and county officials, spent Sh35.9 million attending trainings and meetings in Arusha, Kampala and Dubai.
In Kisii County, MCAs and county assembly officials were mostly on transit during the last financial year, spending Sh23.8 million attending trainings in various countries and cities.
In Kisumu, officials in Governor Peter Nyong'o’s administration and county assembly officials spent Sh51.18 million globetrotting. One of the county officials spent Sh759,565 in an unspecified trip to Mauritania between June 1 and 5, 2024. Four county assembly officials also spent Sh636,480 attending a cultural event in Lira, Uganda. MCAs and other officials also flew to Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, USA and Egypt to attend meetings and trainings.
In Kitui County, MCAs and county assembly officials spent Sh66.38 million attending trainings and other meetings.
Kwale County officials and MCAs spent Sh12.77 million on study tours and benchmarking in Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Ethiopia and Dubai.
It was the same for MCAs and county assembly officials in Laikipia who spent Sh38.99 million in attending trainings in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
In Lamu, county assembly officials and the executive blew Sh76.09 million attending trainings in various countries and cities including Dubai, Tanzania and France.
In Governor Wavinya Ndeti's Machakos County, assembly officials and the executive blew Sh88.22 million attending leadership trainings and workshops in Dubai, Brazil, China, Italy and Qatar. Five county officials spent Sh9.7 million attending a Livestock and Food Security Initiative Conference in Brazil, between December 7 and 16, 2024.
Between December 2024 and February 2025, Governor Wavinya Ndeti sent two other officials for trainings on women political leadership and open governance workshop in Albania and Brazil, where they spent Sh1.8 million.
Officials in Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr's administration, spent Sh9.52 million attending meetings in Morocco and the Republic of Albania. In Tana River, four county officials spent Sh6.4 million attending a peace forum meeting in Switzerland.
Others were Marsabit, which spent Sh13.3milion on foreign travel, Meru (Sh25.5 million), Migori (Sh6.4 million), Nandi (Shh44.97 million), Narok (Sh13.85 million), Nyandarua (Sh20.75 million), Nyeri (Sh55.61 million), Samburu (Sh38.65 million),Tana River (Sh22.41 million),Trans Nzoia (Sh13.06 million) and West Pokot (Sh16.34 million).
Data from both the Controller of Budget and Auditor-General shows development in most of the counties has been stifled due to wasteful expenditures, including on domestic and foreign travel, and bloated wage bills that account for more than half of their budgets.
Counties have also been grappling with the headache of settling pending bills, some dating back to the defunct local authorities, which have strained development activities.
Both the Controller of Budget and the Auditor-General have always advised that counties should increase their spending on development and reduce spending on personal emoluments and travel expenditures; improve on their own source revenue collection; eliminate manual payroll operations; and submit their financial reports on time.
