Controller of Budget: Ruto Govt Spent KSh6.3b on Tea, Mandazis
Kenya’s Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, has revealed shocking government spending patterns that show ministries and agencies spent KSh6.3 billion on tea, mandazis and entertainment in the 2024/2025 financial year—despite President William Ruto’s calls for austerity.
The report shows that’s KSh17.2 million every day on hospitality alone. While the figure is slightly lower than last year’s KSh7.6 billion, it’s too small to be considered any real cost-cutting.
State House leads the pack with KSh1.15 billion, that’s KSh3 million daily. The Judiciary is second with KSh514.6 million and the State Department for Internal Security with KSh491 million.
Travel expenses are also on the rise. State House spent KSh2.3 billion on domestic travel while the Executive Office of the President spent KSh224 million, taking their combined travel bill to KSh2.5 billion. Overall government travel expenses were KSh25.46 billion even after foreign trips were cut by KSh1.7 billion. Parliament spent KSh4.68 billion on domestic travel and the State Department for Foreign Affairs led in overseas trips with KSh2.52 billion.
Other areas also saw increased spending. Salaries went up by KSh47 billion to KSh645.5 billion, fuel and specialized equipment by KSh900 million and KSh3.7 billion respectively. Insurance and training expenses went down.
Nyakang’o warned that such excessive spending is a threat to Kenya’s fiscal stability and pointed out pending bills of KSh530 billion and a public debt of KSh11.7 trillion as of June 2025. She urged the government to tighten spending, increase tax collection and clear arrears to avoid further strain.
This comes at a time when the public is already upset. Recent youth demos have already expressed frustration over government’s lavish spending and are demanding accountability and real austerity from leaders.
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Controller of Budget: Ruto Govt Spent KSh6.3b on Tea, Mandazis