The Meru County government has strongly denied a recent report by the Office of the Controller of Budget claiming that it spent Ksh. 1 billion on foreign travels within nine months up to March 2024.
In a media briefing held at the Meru County government headquarters today, Ibrahim Mutwiri, the County Executive Committee Member for Finance, clarified that the actual expenditure on foreign travel during that period was Ksh. 43.75 million, not Ksh. 1 billion as reported.
Mutwiri explained, “The correct figure for the Meru County government’s expenditure on foreign travel from June 2023 to March 2024 was Ksh. 43.75 million. Out of this amount, Ksh. 42.84 million was spent by the Meru County Assembly, leaving a balance of only Ksh. 910,000 spent by the County Executive.”
He emphasized that it would be impossible to have spent Ksh. 903 million, as reported erroneously, when the total spent by both the County Assembly and the County Executive combined was only Ksh. 43.75 million. Mutwiri dismissed claims of extravagant spending on non-essential activities, stating, “Meru County does not have such a huge amount of recurrent expenditure allocated for travel purposes.”
Regarding the discrepancy, Mutwiri attributed it to a typographical error by the Controller of Budget during reporting and confirmed that the County has already communicated with the office for correction.
Mutwiri assured the residents of Meru that under Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s administration, such extravagant spending does not occur. He asserted, “In the current county budget under consideration, there is no allocation whatsoever for foreign travel. Every cent available is earmarked for the benefit of the people of Meru.”
Supporting Mutwiri’s statements, Kiambi Athiru, the Meru County Government Secretary, labeled the Controller of Budget’s report as a significant error that requires immediate rectification. Athiru also criticized social media reports aimed at politicizing and tarnishing the reputation of Governor Mwangaza and her administration.
The Meru County government remains steadfast in its commitment to transparency and prudent financial management, ensuring that all expenditures are accounted for and justified for the benefit of Meru residents.
