President William Ruto has proposed that Parliament reduce its expenditure on travel budgets and the expenses entailed in facilitating meetings.
Addressing attendees during the inauguration of the Bunge Towers on Thursday, the President asserted that Members of Parliament no longer necessitated additional resources for conducting meetings in hotels or other externally contracted venues.
Ruto further expounded that the newly inaugurated Towers were fully equipped with meeting rooms boasting ample capacity.
“There’s no more reason for extra resources to travel to hotels and to places, now that we have all the facilities here, the meeting rooms, I hope I will see a significant drop Mr Speaker in the budget of Parliament,” he stated.
Additionally, he urged the House Speaker, Moses Wetangula, to incorporate the budget reductions when formulating the upcoming budget.
He emphasised that the use of the 28-tower offices must be duly reflected in the House's expenditures, expressing confidence in Parliament's ability to deliver.
Furthermore, during the inauguration of the Towers, the President addressed the development of ICT hubs in the country, stating that he had spearheaded efforts for their establishment in constituencies, notwithstanding the challenges faced by MPs.
The President pledged to have ICT hubs operational within the next three or four months for constituents by addressing hurdles with the Ministry of Information, Communication, and Technology.
“This morning, I did instruct both the Permanent Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for ICT and NG-CDF to have a meeting and conclude the challenges that were there so that the MPs can roll out the ICT hubs in the constituencies,” he stated.
He noted that the development of the hubs will be instrumental in ensuring that the country doubles foreign remittance in the next five to seven years.
Ruto further elaborated that the Government was creating a framework to enforce the bilateral labour engagements that the country was creating with other foreign nations.
The framework is expected to improve the access for Kenyan youth to jobs in the diaspora.
