A report released on Thursday by the Controller of Budget has made public how the Presidency, which includes State House and Deputy President's office, used Sh2.4 Billion in the first half of the current financial year.
The Budget Implementation Review indicated that the Presidency spent a whopping Sh627 Million on State receptions, garden parties, beverages, gifts and other hospitality supplies.
In addition the highest office on the land spent Sh111 Million on foreign travel, Sh208 Million on domestic travel, Sh141 Million on printing and advertising, with a Sh148 Million catering for rental expenditure and Sh638 Million for salaries.
This huge spending, according to controller of budget, placed the Presidency among the biggest spenders of taxpayers money.
According to the report, the President's office also used an additional Sh33.7 Million on purchase of new furniture, Sh430 Million on operations and Sh32.1 Million on communication, Sh40.7 Million for supplies and services and Sh29.8 Million on insurance of staff from July to December 2015.
The statistics went ahead to name some of the ministries which spent the most during the same period led by Interior Ministry was one of the highest spenders using Sh23.6 Billion on domestic travel, salaries, maintenance of vehicles, insurance among others expenses.
Devolution Ministry was also on the spot after spending Sh9.3 Billion on recurrent expenditure including: staff insurance, training, salaries, purchase of equipment and machinery, supplies and other operations within the department.
Also in the report, the Foreign Affairs Ministry spent Sh732.5 Million which was almost half of the country's total expenditure on travel. Further details of the ministry's spending indicate that Sh37.7 Million was used on communication, supplies and services, Sh373.6 Million paid as membership fees and subscriptions to international organisations and Sh52.2 Million was spent on scholarships.
Figures from the Controller further state that the Ministry of Land and Housing channeled more than Sh2.4 Billion on research, purchase of machinery, operations, feasibility studies and preparation of projects.
The Ministry of Health also featured in the report after spending Sh1.7 Billion on rent and an extra Sh340 Million on construction of buildings.
Teachers also consumed a huge chunk of the budget with the breakdown showing that Sh85.9 Billion was used on their salaries of six months only.
Members of Parliament contributed in heavy spending of public funds using Sh865 Million on touring their constituencies, an amount which was attributed to the high mileage allowances demanded by the lawmakers.
The Controller of Budget put the country on alert after exposing that the government had borrowed a whopping Sh680 Billion in 2015 alone. This included Sh230 Billion internal debt while the other Sh450 Billion was borrowed from foreign markets.
