TIFA Ranks Ruto CSs Who Made The Most Foreign, Local Trips

Nairobi-based research firm Trends and Insights For Africa (TIFA) released its survey on Wednesday, December 13 showcasing the number of foreign and local trips made by members of President William Ruto's Cabinet.

In the survey, Prime Cabinet Secretary (CS) Musalia Mudavadi led in the number of foreign trips for 2023, making 16 trips around the world while he was given the additional duty of steering the Foreign Affairs ministry.

Mudavadi was followed closely by his Sports CS Ababu Namwamba with 13 trips. Namwamba's counterparts, Salim Mvurya (Mining) and Eliud Owalo (ICT) tied with 12 trips each.

Rounding up the top five was Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi with a total of nine trips.

According to TIFA, a total of 657 trips had been conducted by President  Ruto's Cabinet members both locally and globally between January and November 2023.

Despite Interior CS Kithure Kindiki tying with Education CS Ezekiel Machogu as those who have not made any foreign trips, Kindiki led the way locally, making 41 trips.

Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen followed with 23 while Owalo and his Health counterpart, Susan Nakhumicha, tied at 20.

Mudavadi tied with Linturi at 19 local trips each while Environment CS, Soipan Tuya made the least trips out of the 10 CSs with 14.

Trips By Cabinet Secretaries In Terms of Region

Regarding visits by CSs, Nairobi emerged top in the areas visited frequently by the Cabinet members, representing 32 per cent, even though the capital city makes up only 11 per cent of Kenya's population.

"An analysis of the top 10 Cabinet Secretaries’ visits (based on available data) highlights a notable disproportion, with a concentration of 32% of their visits in Nairobi, surpassing the city's 11% representation in the national population.

"This observation suggests that factors determining the number of such visits go beyond population alone. Such factors likely include proximity to their offices, presence of strategic infrastructure, and particular events that require government attention, among others," the report explained in part.

The Coast region, which represents nine percent of the country's population, was the second most-visited area by CSs at 16 per cent with the Central Rift region coming in third at 12 per cent. In this case, it is less than the percentage of the country's population, which stands at 17 per cent.

In a stunning twist, the Mt Kenya region represents 22 per cent of the country's population, more than any other region in Kenya. Yet, the CSs visited it 11 percent of the time.

President Ruto has drawn widespread criticism across political and other quarters over his allegedly spending exorbitantly on foreign travel amidst a struggling Kenyan economy, making more than 48 trips since assuming office on September 13, 2022.