A report titled Travel Requisition Schedule for 2015 has exposed Governors who made requests for frivolous abroad trips last year that led to loss of billions in taxpayer’s money.
The report made public how the county bosses wasted funds by making double requests for the same trips while others purported to attend the same conferences in two different countries.
In the revelations, 10 governors requested to attend the East African Oil and Gas Conference despite not having oil exploration in their counties, and even gave two different locations for that seminar.
A report by the Nation indicated that Isiolo Governor Godana Doyo sought to attend the August 2015 East African Oil and Gas Conference in Australia, while Baringo Deputy Governor Mathew Tuitoek requested to travel to Mozambique for the same event.
Other governors who sought permit to attend that function were; Hussein Dado (Tana River), Cleophas Lagat(Nandi), Josphat Nanok (Turkana), John Mrutu (Taita Taveta), Ukur Yatani (Marsabit), Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu),Amason Kingi (Kilifi) and Joseph Ndathi of Kirinyaga County.
A complaint letter written to the Council of Governors by the Ministry of Devolution further outlined that some governors requested to attend conferences outside their concern such as the United Nations General Assembly.
One such example is Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, Patrick Khaemba (Trans Nzoia) and Mandera’s Ali Roba who asked to travel to the United States for a security conference even though security is not a devolved function.
Jackson Mandago of Uasin Gishu is said to have visited a Samaritan and Evangelical Christian humanitarian organisation in America where he was accompanied by six County officials.
On the other hand, Kiambu Governor William Kabogo was also exposed for having made a double request for a trip to attend a diaspora seminar in the US, but failed to attend the same meeting when hosted in Nairobi.
The Schedule also revealed that Kitui Governor Julius Malombe arranged a ‘smart city planning’ tour to the United Kingdom, while Samuel Tunai of Narok scheduled unspecified visits to India and Dubai.
