MPs Rush to Exhaust Travelling Allowances Ahead of 2021/22 Budget Announcement

Parliamentarians in the country have over the last two months upped on their foreign travels as they look to exhaust their travelling allowances ahead of the 2021/22 budget read set for Thursday, June 10, 2021.

The MPs are looking to exhaust the travel kitty, ensuring no money is returned to the National Treasury as required by the law, in case money is leftover from the current financial year running into the next fiscal year.

According to the budget proposal tabled before parliament in April, the National Treasury set aside Ksh1.2 billion for the fiscal year 2021/22 meant for domestic and foreign travel.

The amount excludes the speakers foreign and domestic trips budgets which stand at Ksh212 million and Ksh160 million respectively.

People Daily on June 4, reported that over 120 legislators have travelled to Dubai for benchmarking over the last two weeks.

"There is a crisis here in parliament; Almost all members of parliament have travelled outside the country. Imagine in the last two weeks alone, 120 MPs and staff have gone to Dubai. If you want to confirm, some of the photos are on social media," an MP who sought anonymity revealed.

Earlier this year, some 16 lawmakers made a five-day trip to Dubai to take a financial training course.

PD reported that MPs get a Ksh143,000 daily allowance while on foreign trips.

Today, June 4, 2021, three groups of MPs and staff are expected to travel to Addis Ababa, Arusha and Kampala for benchmarking.

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) is set to foot the bill for Covid-19 testing for each of the MPs at a cost of Ksh8,000 each. Their tickets and accommodation will also be paid for.