Blow to DP Gachagua as Gov't freezes renovation of public offices

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua may have to make do with his Harambee House Annex office in its current state for another year.

This after Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung'u, in his budget speech on Thursday, announced measures intended to reduce government spending, which include a freeze on refurbishment of government offices.

The move follows criticism from Kenyans who haven't taken too kindly to repeated admonishments by President William Ruto to tighten their belts and live within their means while leaders live large, occupying swanky offices and parading the latest fuel guzzlers.

CS Ndung’u, in an effort to demonstrate that the Kenya Kwanza administration does not preach water and drink wine, announced measures intended to curb government spending.

These include tackling of a bloated wage bill with suspension of all new recruitment for the next one year and an audit and cleansing of all public payrolls with a view to eliminating ghost workers and enforcing payment of salary scales.

Other measures that would affect allowances earned are a reduction on spending on foreign travel and training expenses, with all training restricted to government institutions and use of Wi-Fi and emails for efficient communication.

Those in the public service, police and prisons will also have their insurance schemes reviewed and aligned to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

The measures also include a suspension of all refurbishments of government offices and a suspension of the purchase of furniture for a period of one year.

The move may affect DP Gachagua who had sought to renovate his Harambee House Annex Office and his official residence in Karen and Mombasa at a cost of Ksh.300 million.

Having expressed frustration at provisions made for his air travel, the Deputy President may also fall victim to the government's plan to cut spending on motor vehicles, with his office having requested a budgetary allocation of Ksh.100 million for vehicles.

Other measures include consolidation of public procurement for common user items, suspension of the policy of semi-autonomous government agencies investing surplus funds and will instead be expected to surrender excess funds to the exchequer.

There will also be a review of regional development authorities with a view to removing duplication of roles with those of county governments and ministries, departments and agencies.