Embu county is set to spend over Ksh17 million on a trip where 33 Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) were sent to Arusha, Tanzania to learn about basic etiquette and how to win over voters.
The MCAs embarked on the two weeks training session after the county assembly procession was adjourned from December 1, 2021, to February 8, 2022.
According to reports, each MCA will pocket a total of Ksh520,576 stipend for the duration of the trip.
File image of the Embu County Assembly. |Photo| Courtesy|
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The training institute, East and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI) where the MCAs are undergoing the training will receive a total of two to three million in training fees from the county government.
The legislators were accompanied by the Speaker of the County Assembly, Clerk, and some Staff members of the house under taxpayer's funds.
According to reports, the MCA's transferred Ksh10 million allocated for the County Assembly Sports Association (CASA) games kitty to their foreign travel account. This is after they had depleted the money allocated for their travels with the first trip.
However, Embu senator Njeru Ndwiga slammed the foreign travels as a waste of public resources.
He lamented that the ward representatives had formed a habit of traveling to discuss affairs that can be discussed in the county.
" You will never find our MCAs in Embu there always on the move Tanzania Nairobi and this wastage of public funds," Ndwiga remarked.
Additionally, some of the legislators are looking for a retirement kitty by pushing for more foreign trips after realizing that they may not be re-elected in 2022.
Others are seeking campaign money and to finance their Ksh600,000 tax debt from the Ksh2 million President Uhuru Kenyatta car loan.
