The Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration is once again on the spotlight over financial prudence in unexplained foreign trips expenditures by senior officials after it emerged some have allegedly made 36 trips in just one month’s time.
In a leaked foreign travel manifest, Kileleshwa Member of County Assembly (MCA) Robert Alai has raised an alarm after it was revealed that some of Sakaja’s staff memebrs are hardly in the office coining the word mostly used by county inner circles as ‘City Hall sky-team members’.
The leaked travel schedule indicates forty-nine of the county employees made 37 foreign trips all in one month.
Fears are rife that some could have claimed per diems and allowances for trips they never attended in what could shape to be a massive financial heist of taxpayers’ money amid claims that some of the county officials never made the said trips but the money was paid.
“If you check the passports of some of those county employees, you’ll be shocked they do not go on those trips. Ask the Controller of Budget the same question and she will tell you.” Alai claimed.
The documents indicate the travels were between June 14, 2023 and July 1, 2023 for the Fiscal year that ended in June 2023.
Further, the details show Dubai as the most frequented country where 26 trips were made followed by Canada which has eleven trips and Turkey has six.
“Some employees of Nairobi county are never in the country. They change clothes at the airport.” Alai added.
The data shows Uganda is the only African country that has been visited and only once.
Ali claimed that there is a category of employees in Nairobi who are never in the country adding that the county has been borrowing Sh1.2 billion monthly.
Sakaja administration has been on loggerheads with MCAs over Ward Development funds, delayed release of bursary kitty and non-payment of suppliers.
However, when contacted for comment, acting Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo dismissed the claims as untrue adding that the leaked document is not factual.
“You can even see the document does not have Nairobi county stamp.” Analo told The Informer Media Group.
