Committee on Administration and Internal Security Questions Office of the Deputy President’s Expenditure
The Committee on Administration and Internal Security, chaired by Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo (Narok West), held a meeting today with the Office of the Deputy President (ODP) and the State Department for Immigration to review the budget implementation for the 3rd and 4th quarters of the 2023/2024 financial year.
During the session, Mr. Moses Mbaruku, the Principal Assistant Secretary in the ODP, presented a report revealing that the office had been allocated Kshs. 4.756 billion, including Kshs. 4.356 billion for recurrent expenditure and Kshs. 400 million for development expenditure. By the end of the financial year, the ODP had spent Kshs. 4.729 billion, representing a 99.4% absorption rate of the allocated funds.
Mr. Mbaruku also highlighted several ongoing development projects, including refurbishments at the Harambee Annex, the Karen residence, and the former Provincial Commissioner’s (PC) office in Mombasa, all funded under the Kshs. 400 million development allocation.
However, Hon. Tongoyo raised concerns over the progress of these projects, particularly the refurbishment of the Karen residence, which is expected to cost Kshs. 560 million but had only received Kshs. 250 million in the current financial year. He questioned whether the reported 45% completion status was accurate, given the disparity between the allocated funds and project progress.
Vice-chairperson Hon. Dido Rasso also expressed skepticism over the substantial sums being spent on these projects and asked if the expenditure represented value for money. In response, Ms. Ann Mwangi, Director of Planning in the ODP, clarified that the refurbishment projects are part of a five-year plan, and while some works have been completed, others are still pending.
In a separate report, the State Department for Immigration, which had been allocated Kshs. 8.85 billion for recurrent expenditure and Kshs. 3 billion for development expenditure, reported spending Kshs. 8.78 billion on recurrent costs and Kshs. 3.9 billion on development projects. Key achievements included the operationalization of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system as part of the Presidential directive on a visa-free regime, the acquisition of two high-end passport personalization printers, and the issuance of hundreds of thousands of travel documents, including e-passports, work permits, and visas.
Additionally, the State Department collected Kshs. 17.4 billion in revenue, of which Kshs. 1.7 billion was retained to cover operational expenses, including Kshs. 750 million for development and Kshs. 950 million for other development activities.
The Committee will continue to monitor the progress of these projects and scrutinize expenditure to ensure accountability in public funds.
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