What President's domestic travel costs taxpayers

His latest trip to Brazzaville will, undoubtedly, add to the pile of millions the taxpayer has forked out to finance the Head of State's trips abroad. But the said amount pales in comparison to that required to fund Ruto's local trips.

Whether it is stepping out to grace a function, a church service, a fundraiser or inspecting or launching a project, Ruto has an obvious liking for the outdoors.

Since he assumed office in September last year, he has made countless such trips across the country. The tours do not come cheap.

The president's domestic trips dent the public coffers significantly more than his foreign travels, as data by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang'o show. Between July last year and June this year, the Executive Office of the President splurged Sh1 billion in domestic travel, which overshadows the Sh361 million spent on trips abroad.

The figures are contained in the CoB's Annual National Government Budget Implementation Review Report for FY 2022/23. It is worth to note that the expenditure includes the period before he took over.

But a previous report by Nyakang'o showed that the president's office spent Sh582 million in domestic travel between July 2022 and March this year, meaning that Ruto spent Sh418 million in April, May and June, on local trips. By March, he had spent Sh98.8 million on foreign travel, meaning the head of state spent Sh262.2 million on foreign trips between April and June. Comparatively, the president's office, under former President Uhuru Kenyatta, spent Sh873 million in the previous financial year (2021/2022) on local travel and Sh83.54 million on foreign tours.

It is worth noting that in that year, the Executive Office of the President comprised the deputy president's office, meaning the stated figure spent in the 2021/22 financial year included expenditures by Ruto, then the deputy president.

President William Ruto's official vehicle at the KICC during a past national event. [Silas Otieno, Standard]

In August, he toured the Gusii region three times to launch projects, the last coming within five days of the previous one. His other significant trip to Nyanza came in January, a two-day tour of Kisumu, Siaya and Homa Bay.

In August, the president made a five-day tour of the Western region, visiting Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia and Vihiga. He was previously in the region during a two-day visit in December.

Earlier in August, he also spent five days in Mt Kenya, holding rallies and launching projects. A month earlier, he also spent five days touring the Coastal region.

Raila Odinga's Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya has faulted Ruto for carrying out functions meant for junior officers, such as inspecting road projects at exorbitant costs.

"They are using helicopters to launch water taps," former Planning Principal Secretary Saitoti Torome said when Azimio released its assessment of Ruto's one-year performance last month.

Others, too, feel that the president's travel budget is not prudent.

"So, President Ruto spends Sh56 million on travels in half year, then demands everyone else to cut travel expenses, and asks Parliament to implement today, Knowing National Assembly is in recess. Wakenya mtajua hamjui," Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo posted on X, formerly Twitter, in the wake of Ruto's remarks Friday.

Further, the opposition has accused the head of state of seeking mileage by claiming projects carried out by his predecessor, further criticising him for hitting the campaign trail "too early" at the expense of working, as he has held road-side rallies in virtually all his local tours.

Ruto has not helped his case by fashioning the trips he has dubbed "working or development tours" into political arenas. In recent months, he has used the tours to champion his reelection bid and open his United Democratic Alliance(UDA) party offices. That was the case during his tour of Nyanza earlier this month, Mt Kenya in September and Western in August.