Foreign travel costs of the office of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto in the months of April, May and June 2020, increased by Ksh 57.6 million, compared to the same period in 2019.
During the said months, the country had banned air travel in a bid to combat the spread of Covid-19.
According to data by the Controller of Budget (CoB) seen by Business Daily, the presidency spent Ksh 63.6 million on foreign trips in the three months compared to Ksh 6 million in the same period in 2019.
It was expected that the cost of the Presidency's foreign trips would drop, with both the President and his Deputy being in the country during the 3 month period, leading the fight against covid-19.
A report signed by CoB Margaret Nyakango indicated that the lockdown period affected ministries, departments and agencies planned activities resulting in low expenditure of some budget items.
"Given the disruptions occasioned by the actions taken by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic, it is clear that the measures have impacted on all sectors of the economy," Nyakango stated.
The Controller of Budget did not, however, indicate details of the additional foreign costs of the presidency.
State house, however, did not make any trips that might have been taken by the president or deputy president public until Wednesday, September 30, when Kenyatta flew to Paris, France.
During his trip, Kenyatta and his France counterpart Emmanuel Macron witnessed the signing of three bilateral agreements.
Meanwhile, in July, Kenyatta hired a luxurious private jet to pick ODM leader Raila Odinga from Dubai.
At the time, the ODM leader underwent a surgery to treat a nerve disorder that had affected one of his legs.
Aboard the Private Jet Airbus A318-112 (CJ) Elite A6-CAS, MS4211 were ODM deputy leader Hassan Joho and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed on Thursday, July 9.
