Restrictions On Business Class Air Travel, Use Of High-End Cars & Other Proposals To Cut Budget
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that government transport facilitates the movement of staff, materials and equipment within the ever-increasing reliability and economy while working within a constrained resource environment.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
The National Treasury & Economic Planning has published the Government Transport Policy Proposal 2024, which proposes a series of measures to cut down expenditure on travel within the public service sector.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that government transport facilitates the movement of staff, materials and equipment within the ever-increasing reliability and economy while working within a constrained resource environment.
According to the draft policy, there is an alarm about the cost borne by the taxpayer in the management and maintenance of government assets. It also highlights that government transport alone cost the taxpayer Ksh8.6 billion in 2021, Ksh9.7 billion in 2022 and Ksh14.3 billion in 2023, hence the need for the John Mbadi-led Ministry to rationalise travel in the sector.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi at his office on August 12, 2024. /NATIONAL TREASURY
Air Travel
For starters, a restriction on air travel will be imposed on junior government officials. "Air transport shall be used both locally and internationally. This policy aims to ensure the use of air transport is compliant with the existing austerity measures. The policy recommends the use of business class is restricted to only senior government officers of JGR and above," reads the policy document obtained by Viral Tea.
The move is aimed at ensuring the use of air transport is compliant with the existing austerity measures that seek to greatly reduce the government’s budget on domestic and foreign travel.
On foreign travel, the use of business class for such trips shall be restricted to Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries only. "The use of the business class is restricted to only senior government officers of JG R (job groups) and above," adds the policy.
All other government officers on official travel within and outside Kenya shall use economy class for travel while hired air transport services shall only be used within the country under exceptional circumstances.
Additionally, Mbadi wants to limit the use of hired air transport to exceptional circumstances within the country, specifically in cases where other means of transport are not appropriate, such as in security operations or during natural disasters.
"Hired air transport shall only be used within the country under exceptional circumstances where other means of transport may not be appropriate, in security services or in disasters," the proposal reads.
In another proposal, preference for air transport shall be given to national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) in the policy that moves away from the past practice of dishing out circulars to the heads of ministries, State departments, and chief executives of corporations.
This is likely to be a huge one for the national airline given that it had on September 23, 2024, opened an exclusive hub set to serve them, currently domiciled at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi. The Asante Executive Hub is a first-of-its-kind government travel centre designed to offer one-stop travel solutions for government and private sector executive travellers.
Official travel by public servants includes any travel by a public official or any other person where a public-sector organisation or service uses public monies to pay for the travel by land, air, or sea.
Currently, non-essential foreign travel remains suspended with the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs being tasked with assessing the necessity of participation of a delegation in a destination that has onsite foreign service staff.
Senior public officers are also expected to only attend policy-related meetings and be out of the country for no more than seven working days excluding the travel day. Cumulative days away should not exceed seven days per travel, 15 days every three months, or 45 days a year.
Public officers are meanwhile barred from attending internationally hosted training, meetings, conferences, and events organised by local and regional-based public or private institutions.
Vehicle Allocation
The policy also proposes a maximum of two vehicles to be allocated to cabinet secretaries and governors. Should it be successful, Permanent secretaries, deputy governors, heads of parastatals, chief executives of independent offices and commissions and county executive committee members (CECs) will receive one car each.
Chairpersons of state corporations are also set to receive one car while senior cadre officers from Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Counties (MDACs) will be facilitated from a pool of vehicles. However, commissioners of independent officers and members of parastatal boards who are required to use private vehicles and seek reimbursement will be exempted from this.
On vehicle engine capacity, the policy has proposed a raft of changes to ensure that the government realizes value for money in fuel utilization, fleet efficiency and cost-effectiveness and realized reduced maintenance costs.
Engine Capacity
The policy states that passenger utility vehicles above 3000cc are not allowed in government, except specialized vehicles and for security purposes.
Official vehicles purchased for use by CSs, Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the Secretary to the Cabinet and the Head of Public Service, shall not exceed 2600 cc for saloon cars and 3000cc for 4 x 4 utility vehicles.
In addition, official vehicles purchased for use by PSs, Accounting Officers, Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, Director of Public Prosecution, Clerk of the National Assembly and the Senate, Heads of Constitutional Commissions and Independent Offices, commissioners of constitutional commissions, Inspector-General of Police shall not exceed 2400cc for saloon cars and 3000 cc for 4 x 4 utility vehicles.
Official vehicles purchased for use by other officers on Job Group R and above and High Court Judges and Chief Executive of state corporations shall not exceed 2000 cc for saloon cars and 2900cc for 4 x 4 utility vehicles.
According to the Policy, vehicle allocation will be under the stewardship of the Government Fleet Management Department (GFMD) which is under the Treasury.
The GFMD will be responsible for overseeing the acquisition, utilization, maintenance, and disposal of Government-owned moveable assets.
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