Ironically, counties that spent the least on development were also the biggest spenders on travel.
Governors, Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and county officials splashed more than Sh16.2 billion on domestic and foreign trips in a single year, a new report has revealed.
The latest County Governments Expenditure Review Report by Controller of Budget Dr Margaret Nyakang’o shows how officials undertook costly benchmarking tours, conferences and workshops both locally and abroad with little benefit to the electorate during the year ending June 30, 2025.
According to the report, officials blew Sh14.22 billion on domestic travel, while Sh2.01 billion went into foreign trips during the 2024/2025 financial year.
A woman walks by the waterline at the Dubai Marina in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai city authorities offer attractive long-term visa for outstanding international students.
The most preferred destinations were France, Dubai, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Egypt.
Nairobi County emerged as the biggest spender on travel, burning through over Sh863.3 million in the 2024/2025 financial year on conferences, study tours, and foreign trips—while development projects lagged behind.
“Some 13 county employees travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to attend a certified cybersecurity training. The county also spent Sh23.4 million to ferry 25 members of the Nairobi Revenue Authority to Malaysia for revenue automation, innovation, and tax governance training,” the report states.
In Nairobi, domestic travel alone cost Sh630 million—Sh271.28 million by the county assembly and Sh359 million by the county executive—while foreign travel accounted for another Sh232 million. Officials justified the large expenditure by citing the county’s sizable number of MCAs and staff.
Other heavy spenders included Machakos, Turkana, Tana River, Kitui, Kakamega, and West Pokot, each burning over Sh500 million on both domestic and foreign travel.
Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti.
Machakos County, led by Governor Wavinya Ndeti, spent Sh631.2 million on travel—Sh532 million domestically and Sh99 million on foreign trips—undertaking 47 foreign trips in just one year.
The county executive spent Sh317.3 million while the county assembly used Sh214.64 million. Five county executives attended the Livestock and Food Security Initiative Conference in Brazil at a cost of Sh9.65 million. In a separate trip, one official pocketed Sh8.16 million after attending a fire emergency response workshop in the UK.
Additionally, 14 MCAs attended a capacity-building tour at the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania, spending Sh3.55 million. Another group of six MCAs travelled to Singapore for a leadership training programme on good governance and visionary leadership, at a cost of Sh3.29 million.
Kisumu County spent Sh491 million, with London and Washington, DC, among the main destinations. The county executive spent Sh197.99 million and the county assembly Sh215.18 million. One county executive reportedly spent Sh2.7 million attending “various meetings” in the USA.
Kitui spent Sh609.17 million, Turkana Sh623.38 million, and Tana River Sh620.22 million. Also flagged were West Pokot (Sh539.77 million), Nakuru (Sh571.97 million), Kakamega (Sh525 million), Narok (Sh465.07 million), Meru (Sh492.29 million), Kajiado (Sh427.02 million), and Nyandarua (Sh404.14 million).
West Pokot spent Sh8.4 million transporting and accommodating 14 MCAs in Dubai for the Leadership and Excellence Programme. Two officers attended capacity-building training for county executives at a cost of Sh8.92 million, while four MCAs spent Sh2.68 million on another Leadership and Excellence Programme in Malaysia.
Other top spenders included Murang’a (Sh428.28 million), Samburu (Sh403.87 million), Kiambu (Sh382.29 million), Migori (Sh341.38 million), Nandi (Sh331.3 million), and Nyeri (Sh404.4 million).
The least spenders on travel were Makueni (Sh48.48 million), Isiolo (Sh137.84 million), Elgeyo Marakwet (Sh151.56 million), Kwale (Sh144.6 million), Mandera (Sh169.51 million), and Nyamira (Sh186.37 million).
Kenya's President William Ruto attends the 80th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 23, 2025.
In June 2023, President William Ruto, through a memo by the Head of Public Service, issued strict conditions on official travel, capping delegation sizes and timelines. Governors were limited to a maximum of three people, including themselves. State corporation CEOs and board chairs were allowed to travel alone. Only the Deputy President and the Prime Cabinet Secretary were permitted to travel with personal assistants.
The circular also capped travel duration at seven days per trip, 15 days per quarter, and 45 days per year. In October 2023, another memo suspended benchmarking, study visits, trainings, and conferences, including symposia, exhibitions, and association meetings.
In July 2024, President Ruto ordered budget cuts across all government units, including counties, in response to economic pressures and protests over the 2024 Finance Bill. He emphasized the need for fiscal discipline to ensure the country “lives within its means.”
However, the directive appears to have been ignored.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango.
In her report, Dr Nyakang’o warned that the travel spending was excessive, unnecessary, and diverted resources from critical infrastructure and services.
“The amount being spent on travel is excessive and largely unnecessary. Counties must prioritize development projects and ensure public funds are used responsibly,” she said.
An analysis of county budgets revealed that 23 of the 47 counties failed to meet the 30 per cent development expenditure threshold, instead diverting substantial sums into travel.
Nairobi County performed worst, allocating only 12 per cent of its budget to development, followed by Machakos (16 per cent), Kisumu (17 per cent), Kiambu and Kajiado (18 per cent), and Nyamira (19 per cent). Ironically, counties that spent the least on development were also the biggest spenders on travel.
The report also questioned why most trainings, meetings, and workshops could not be held within Kenyan towns and cities. For instance, one county official travelled to the UK to attend a meeting on pyrethrum revival, while another went to Tanzania to learn about the use and control of the IFMIS system.
The CoB report also highlighted significant irregularities in pending bills and human resource records across counties, raising concerns about possible misuse of public funds.
Recurrent expenditures hit Sh346.98 billion, representing 91 per cent of the annual recurrent budget—similar to last year’s 91 per cent absorption rate of Sh337.53 billion. Of this, Sh220.64 billion went to employee compensation, while Sh126.34 billion (36 per cent) was spent on operations and maintenance.
County assemblies also reported Sh1.57 billion in MCAs’ sitting allowances, equivalent to 87 per cent of the approved Sh1.80 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year—a slight improvement from the previous year.
Development expenditures totalled Sh123.76 billion, reflecting a 57 per cent absorption rate of the Sh218.99 billion annual development budget, down slightly from 58 per cent the previous year.
Governance expert Dr Peter Mbae argued that the Sh16.2 billion spent on unnecessary travel could have been redirected to transformative projects.
“The Sh16.2 billion splashed on travel could fund about 20 ultra-modern Level Four hospitals, each costing more than Sh700 million. It could also finance at least 30 stalled County Aggregation and Industrial Parks, each costing Sh500 million,” he said.
“The specific projects would depend on county governments’ needs as defined in their integrated development plans,” he added.
