On July 31, 2023 Kirinyaga County awarded Shiloki Enterprises Ltd a contract to supply it with an executive chair for governor Anne Waigurus office, and parted with Sh648,000 for the furniture.
While the amount is still dwarfed by the Sh1.1 million presidential chair Siaya County purchased for deputy governor William Oduol, the Kirinyaga seat is still expensive by any yardstick.
Just a month later, Homa Bay County paid Rayte Travel Agency Sh522,000 to hire a chase car for Governor Gladys Wangas motorcade for one month.
At the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate, Dominance Capital Ltd and Haddie Supplies were awarded contracts to supply two Samsung smart TVs for managing director Theophilus Mutuis office. Haddie also supplied a visitors book and a day planner.
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Dominance Capital pocketed Sh265,720 as Haddie was paid Sh172,500.
And in November, State House hired Imathere Investments to supply it with a digital watch, in a contract worth Sh750,000.
These are just but a few of hundreds of curious spends by national and county governments that have declared their financial data to the public procurement regulator in the 2023/24 financial year.
From fine dining during mundane meetings in some of the countrys finest hotels, to buying expensive furniture and appliances, some institutions are burning millions on items and services that even top executives in blue chip companies only dream of.
By the time of going to press, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura was yet to respond to our queries on what policies the Kenya Kwanza administration intends to put in place to avoid frivolous spending by public institutions.
State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed told Nation that President William Ruto has already started cutting down wastage by government in his first two years in charge, and said that there will be more plugs to stop unnecessary spending.
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Mr Mohamed cited the Presidents recent meeting with State corporation bosses as a key moment in the journey.
The President has been clear. When he came in, things were tough both here and globally. He has always said that for Kenya to get out of this mess, we need to live within our means. In the first financial year, he cut the number of trips by government officials, both in number and delegation size, and he led from the front. He travels with a very lean team, Mr Mohamed said.
He added that the recent ban on promotional items is just one of many decisions to come and which are aimed at cutting spending.
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When Head of Public Service Felix Koskei banned government agencies from procuring promotional items last week, he barely scratched the surface on the gravy train a section of civil servants has been riding.
Interestingly, State House, which green lit Mr Koskeis ban on promotional items, has spent Sh3 million on branded, heavy duty umbrellas this financial year alone. It has also spent money on other branded items.
Data made public by the public procurement regulator indicates that several institutions, at both national and county level, are spending big to keep their staff comfortable, as President William Ruto struggles to implement austerity measures he promised in the 2022 election campaign trail.
Busia County has spent over Sh23 million on conferences, outside catering, accommodation and other hospitality services, all of which was in establishments within the devolved unit.
At the Kenya National Highways Authority, over Sh12 million was spent on conferences and outside catering.
The agency spent Sh1.7 million to hold a conference at Travellers Beach Hotel in Mombasa for review of its accounts departments performance. It spent another Sh1.7 million for a conference at the Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge to prepare for a Parliamentary appearance.
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Some Kenha staff also burnt Sh1.6 million in a conference at the Maasai Mara Sopa Lodge as they held a conference for review of road design manual standards.
Another conference at the Naivasha Country Lodge cost Sh686,000 with the agenda being to discuss findings of a public participation exercise.
The State Department for Planning, under the National Treasury, also spent over Sh12 million on conferences, with most of those listed in the procurement portal not being tagged with an agenda for the out-of-town excursion.
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For the Teachers Service Commission, a conference to develop the TSC Amendment Bill cost Sh1.3 million at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi.
