Delayed cash to missions taints Kenya’s image - report

Kenya's image abroad is at risk of being tainted over delayed disbursements by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to its diplomatic missions, the Auditor General has said.

Nancy Gathungu in her 2023-24 audit report found that the Foreign ministry disbursed Sh14.35 billion during the year under review.

However, the disbursements were done in the last month of the respective quarters. This, Gathungu said, hindered service delivery, procurement processes and affected the country’s image abroad.

“This resulted in delayed payments to local staff, foreign service allowances to home-based staff, suppliers, office expenses and delayed procurement processes, which may have affected the country’s image abroad,” Gathungu report said.

She noted that the situation negatively affected the staff morale, caused low confidence and exposed the country to reputational risks.

There have also been cases of salary delays for Kenyan diplomats abroad, heavily affecting their stay and financial independence abroad.

For instance, in April 2023, National Assembly Committee on Defence Intelligence and Foreign Affairs chairman Nelson Koech said some attachés in Belgium and Germany had gone for six months without pay.

Some were facing eviction, he said. Mutua said the government was experiencing a cash crunch owing to ballooning debts, while at the same time saying the issues could have been caused by different departments paying for seconded attachés.