Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Environment CS Soipan Tuya launch the the Climate Change and Forestry’s Five-Year Plan in Nairobi on July 27.
News
Premium
No joyriders: Mudavadi, Tuya to vet COP28 government attendees
What you need to know:
- Officials planning to travel to the summit will be required to state the role they will play during the meeting, the cost of their travel including ticket costs and subsistence allowance, proposed airline, days of travel and dates of travel.
President William Ruto has instructed the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry to vet all government officials seeking to travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for COP28 to limit travel costs.
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has picked Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya in collaboration with Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi to lead Kenya’s agenda for COP28 which kicks off in Dubai next week.
The two ministries will collect the details of all government officials seeking to travel to the climate summit, including their designation, the ministry, department or agency they work for, personnel number and passport number.
The officials will also be required to state the role they will play during the meeting, the cost of their travel including ticket costs and subsistence allowance, proposed airline, days of travel and dates of travel.
Last November at the COP27 in Egypt, the Nation reported that Kenya was one of the countries that sent the largest delegation, casting doubt on President Ruto’s commitment to austerity.
At 386 participants — 293 of them from the national government — the Kenyan team was the second largest in Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo and fourth in the world.
The latest move targeting this year’s event is a significant shift away from the usual process where ministries usually vet and send their own delegations on foreign trips, often consisting of a large number of staff and hangers-on funded by taxpayers.
“MDAs (Ministries departments and Agencies) should not submit separate travel clearance requests to this office for consideration, outside of the delegation list and submission process as above,” said Mr Koskei. The crackdown is part of efforts by Dr Ruto’s government, and in the memo, Mr Koskei has stated that this new clearance protocol that is being used for COP28 will become the new protocol for all subsequent foreign events.
The conference starts on November 30 and will close on December 12, 2023.
“This procedure will apply henceforth for travel clearance requests to all subsequent multilateral meetings. The designated ministry will vary depending on the subject/agenda or theme of the meeting,” he said.
Mr Koseki has further instructed that any MDA that receives an invitation directly from foreign governments, embassies or other stakeholders should share the same with the two ministries for joint coordination.
