In an effort to reduce spending, Kenya’s government has banned non-essential international travel for public officials.
According to Felix Koskei, head of public service for the country, this included travel for training, benchmarking, study, and research.
Conferences are also included in the list of non-essential events.
Mr. Koskei gave orders for government officials to attend such events virtually or to request the attendance of diplomats from the host country.
In the first nine months after President William Ruto’s election, officials traveled for a total of 14 billion Kenyan shillings ($94 million; £78 million), according to local media.
“Foreign travel will only be facilitated for engagements in which the government of Kenya’s participation is part of the fulfilment of state obligations,” Mr. Koskei said, and in events involving “critical decisions impacting on the country’s position”.
Additionally, he set a limit of delegations of ministers and governors to three persons and stated that they would only be permitted to travel abroad for a total of seven days per trip and 45 days per year.
He also said that only staff who would play a direct role in the scheduled activities would be included in the delegations of the president, vice president, and first lady.
Source-BBC
