The wanton spending on State House visits

Questions are emerging over the huge spending involved in the frequent visits to State House, as different delegations continue to stream in to meet President William Ruto.

It is not the first time that this issue has been raised but Ruto has often told off critics questioning the visits, saying he is in charge and at liberty to invite Kenyans from all walks of life.

State House has hosted political leaders, teachers, community representatives, professionals, religious leaders and grassroots groups among others, with critics concerned over use of public funds to run such events, in addition to blurring the line between official government business and political mobilisation.

While at it, the list of promises grows each passing day as more and more grievances are laid on the table.

But as he defends the visits to State House, Ruto has been categorical that welcoming ordinary Kenyans to the President’s official residence does not lower its status in any way.

“Inviting you to State House is not undervaluing it as critics say; it is basically upholding your dignity as humans and leaders in this nation. Sometimes back, there were those who told me that I have downgraded the status of the State House, that even common people have access,” Ruto said about a week ago.

According to Ruto, State House has hosted a wide range of dignitaries during his presidency, including kings, presidents and leaders from different levels of society.

“I answered them and said I did not lower the status of State House but uplifted the respect of the Kenyan people. They too should be given the opportunity to visit the State House and understand it is their home,” he stated.

The last few weeks have seen the President host a number of delegations ranging from over 10,000 village elders to 5,000 members of Friends Church to 9,000 Muslim leaders and private security officers among others.

Involved is massive mobilization and in the long run, transport services are hired to bring thousands of people from various parts of the country to State House in every meeting he holds.

While there, promises are made ranging from better pay to new equipment to financial support for different projects worth millions that some specific groups are running at that moment.

For instance, the village elders, Ruto said they would start receiving Sh3,000 monthly stipends in addition to the Government working towards paying Social Health Authority premiums from January 2027, providing them with smartphones to ease their work, all of which involves millions of money.

Calendar days are quickly passing by, which also means that the 2027 election is slowly approaching, with questions being raised on whether the commitments and promises are backed by budgets and clear implementation plans or are simply political pronouncements.

Firstly, it is almost un-African to deny visitors at least a simple meal whenever they visit a home and it has not been any different when delegations go to State House.

By its stature, a meal – or say a buffet - at State House will obviously be high-end thus, could ultimately cost millions, probably depending on the service providers involved.

For instance, a buffet serving in some of the high end hotel could be estimated to cost not anything less than Sh2,000, which means a serving of say 10,000 elders could see Sh20 million used on meals alone.

Aside from the meals, the facilitation fee is said to be given in every visit, which reportedly ranges from Sh5,000 to Sh10,000 or even more, sometimes depending on the role persons play for a particular visit.

Hiring a bus to bring the people to the venue is yet another function that takes up massive amount of money and depending on the distance, it could cost anything from Sh30,000 and more, depending on the distance to Nairobi.

Similarly, other costs that could be incurred in such an event could cover sanitation logistics, first aid services and contingency, all of which are estimated to run into millions.

Jubilee Deputy Party leader, Fred Matiang’i has renewed his concern over what he termed as misuse of public resources to host delegations in State House, amid Kenyans struggling in economic hardships and high cost of living.

While in Kuria East last Thursday, Matiang’i said the government is laying ground to rig next year’s general election by using public resources to bankroll State house functions.

“To the government leaders, instead of taking people to State House to bribe them, they should solve the crisis facing our people. This government is focusing on irrelevant things, the President keeps taking people to the State House to bribe them over the next elections. He is more interested in his survival,” Matiang’i said.

Separately, International Commission of Jurists – Kenya (ICJ-K) Chairperson, Christine Alai yesterday called on the need for leaders to take responsibility but even also, citizens should not just sit back and remain helpless.

“The constitution affords us a framework to be able to be able to pursue accountability and in the event that accountability is not arriving through the duty bearers, we also have a responsibility but we maintain that our best results remain in working collaboratively between various civil societies, communities, stakeholders and duty bearers,” she explained.