Treasury mulls use of donkeys, camels to slash transport costs

The Kenyan government now seeks to use traditional transport methods to reduce expenditure amidst soaring fuel costs, currently totaling Sh 14.3 billion.

In its 2024 draft policy, the government is exploring the viability of increasing donkeys, camels, electric vehicles, and horses into its fleet as part of an austerity measure to cut costs.

The Treasury’s policy, designed to lower public spending, comes as the national budget stands at Sh 182.7 billion as of July 2024.

According to a Statista survey, a significant portion of this budget is allocated to interest payments, salaries, wages, pensions, and operational costs.

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The sight of public officials using state resources for personal gain contrasts sharply with the economic struggles of the average Kenyan, who faces rising taxes and stagnating wages.

Worse still, the government admits it lacks a comprehensive inventory of its vehicle fleet, including their numbers, conditions, and makes.

The luxury of government convoys, complete with chase cars and bodyguards, has come to symbolize waste in an era of economic hardship.

In a statement, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, John Mbadi, emphasized that the new policy aims to improve fleet management across ministries, departments, agencies, and counties (MDACs).

The draft addresses issues such as mismanagement, inefficiency, high operational costs, and environmental concerns.

One key proposal is to use private vehicles for official duties and to introduce geo-fencing and tracking technologies for better oversight.

"This policy is developed against a backdrop of tight fiscal space and the austerity measures designed by the government in response to emerging expenditure pressures and economic shocks," the draft states.

In a bid to tackle these challenges, the government has proposed an innovative solution: replacing its fuel-consuming fleet with electric vehicles, donkeys, camels, and horses.

These changes would require significant investment in training, acquisitions, and public-private partnerships.

"In addition, this policy applies to livestock procured for government transport, such as horses, camels, and donkeys. This policy also covers any other forms of government transport unless explicitly exempted," the draft policy states, underscoring the government's plan to use alternative, cost-effective means of transportation.

Government entities have long struggled with poor fleet management, including inadequate regulations, high maintenance costs, and inefficiency.

Many vehicles have been poorly maintained, lack proper records, and are often left to deteriorate in government garages. As a result, citizens continue to receive subpar services while public resources are mismanaged.

The 2024 Government Transport Policy seeks to address the issues by advocating for a reduced carbon footprint, greater cost-efficiency, and improved service delivery.

If approved, the policy could soon see officials using donkeys, horses, or camels to reach their destinations in a bid to lower fuel consumption and streamline government transport.

The new policy also seeks to curb the rising costs of maintaining the government fleet. Fuel expenditures have skyrocketed, from Sh 8.6 billion in 2021 to Sh 14.3 billion in 2023. The 2023/24 budget allocated Sh 12.2 billion for fleet management alone.

Despite the high costs, many government vehicles remain underutilized and still require maintenance, licensing, insurance, and storage, contributing further to the financial strain.

Lack of a comprehensive tracking system for government vehicles has exacerbated this problem. Although efforts have been made to implement vehicle tracking and fuel logging in some agencies like the National Police Service, real-time tracking and geo-referencing are still not in place.

This gap allows for misuse, such as vehicles being used for personal purposes, to go unnoticed.

Unlike countries like the Netherlands and Australia, where senior officials cycle to work, Kenyan officials remain heavily reliant on expensive fleets of vehicles, often accompanied by security details.

Lack of oversight has led to the abandonment of vehicles in government garages, with some mysteriously vanishing altogether.

The policy also points out the substantial number of unserviceable government vehicles that lack proper ownership documentation.

Some vehicles are abandoned in garages due to poor repairs and negligence, leading to financial losses. Furthermore, the absence of a framework for disposing of aging assets has resulted in many vehicles simply taking up space, further draining government resources.

A key challenge in addressing these issues is the lack of a centralized agency to oversee procurement, maintenance, and disposal of government transport. The government’s failure to track these vehicles has led to inefficiency and wasteful spending.

"This policy also suggests training for drivers and feedback mechanisms to improve vehicle management," Mbadi said.

At the heart of the government's austerity measures is a drive to reduce fuel consumption. While the idea of using donkeys, camels, and horses may seem far-fetched, it reflects the government's desperate attempt to address inefficiencies within its fleet management system.

The unmonitored availability of numerous government vehicles has led to low participation in the National Treasury's car loan scheme, which allows civil servants to purchase cars for official use.

"Why would civil servants use the loan to buy cars when they can use official vehicles for personal purposes?" said Allan Kahindi, a policy expert.

The draft policy also highlights the government's delayed efforts in maintaining an asset register, adding that poor records on fuel consumption have compounded the problem.

The fleet management reforms date back over a decade, beginning with the revision of the 2006 policy. Challenges such as incoherence, resource constraints, and constitutional changes led to slow implementation.

Despite efforts by various task forces, the current system is still flawed, with no clear framework for fleet management and disposal.

The draft also reveals that government transport expenditure has steadily risen from Ksh 16.1 billion in 2013/14 to Ksh 17.7 billion in 2016/17, only to drop to Ksh 10.6 billion in 2018. Since then, allocations have remained over Ksh 10 billion.