PHOTO | PSCU President Kenyatta (centre) and Deputy President William Ruto with members of Trade Mark East Africa who called on him at State House, Nairobi, on February 22, 2014.
The Foreign ministry is seeking urgent additional cash from the Treasury to cater for the President’s travel and other operations under the current financial year.
The ministry has asked for more money for foreign travel, rental space for its officers, procurement of vehicles both locally and for missions abroad and for staff salaries and allowances among others.
It said it would be impossible to cater for the President’s travel through reallocation of funds from other items as it had been asked to do by the National Treasury.
The President’s travel is expected to cost more because an aircraft has to be hired for the purpose because the official one is undergoing maintenance.
“The truth is the President will have to travel and there is no doubt about it, we cannot tell him there is no budget. It therefore has to be enhanced,” Dr Karanja Kibicho, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry told departmental committee on defence and foreign relations last week.
The PS said the ministry’s budget for the 2013/2014 financial year has been drastically reduced, affecting operations in Kenya’s missions abroad and at its headquarters. The austerity measures recommended to Treasury by Parliament in the 2012/2013 financial year were carried over to the current financial year.
According to the PS, the ministry has lost Sh900 million through the austerity measures on its operations and maintenance items, negatively impacting on its operations abroad.
The ministry has asked for the intervention of Parliament to have the money reinstated in the budget to cushion the missions.
The committee was informed that the ministry was facing a shortage of vehicles especially protocol and representational for use by headquarters for VIP transport and by missions abroad. The ministry is also seeking funding to the tune of Sh270 million to facilitate the procurement of the vehicles. No allocation was made for this.
The PS said without functional vehicles, Kenya’s missions would be constrained in their operations. “Some of the missions have old and unserviceable vehicles. This is indeed denting our image and reputation as a country,” he said.
INSUFFICIENT ALLOCATION
Under the development vote, the ministry was allocated Sh268 million which it says, is grossly insufficient. Under this vote, Sh300 million is required to cater for routine maintenance and repairs in missions abroad and Sh578 million to complete ongoing projects in missions in Windhoek, Addis Ababa, Islamabad, Ottawa, The Hague, Pretoria and the ministry headquarters.
The Sector Working Group has also allocated funds for acquisition of a chancery and residence in Kampala and a chancery in New York on two consecutive budget years but the Treasury has not allocated a budget for the same to date.
The approximate cost of the projects is Sh550 million and Sh1.2 billion respectively.
The ministry is also seeking Sh2 billion from the Treasury to purchase land for the construction of new headquarter buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The ministry, which is currently housed in the old Treasury Building, says it is restricted in office accommodation. It has been renting office space on the 10th, 12th and 19th floors at Kenyatta International Conference Centre at a cost of Sh12 million annually.
It was served with notice to vacate KICC by the end of June last year to pave the way for the provision of office space to Senators. It is seeking Sh48 million to cater for rent, office portioning and purchase of office furniture and equipment for its officers, including those under the External Trade Department now in its docket.
The ministry is also asking for Sh270 million more on its foreign travel budget citing frequent travel by heads of missions. It also cites the transfer to its docket, of the External Trade portfolio which was formerly in the Ministry of Trade, saying this expanded its mandate and requires additional resources.
Some Sh89.4 million is sought to cater for Phase II of the process of reviewing terms and conditions for local staff in 34 missions and a further Sh90 million to cater for costs relating to the exit package for ambassadors likely to leave the service during the financial year.
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