Emerging details land the Jubilee government on the spot for spending billions of shillings on non-essentials at a time when the government is grappling with financial shortages.
A report from the Controller of Budget indicates that the government spent Sh4 billion in the first three years of the financial year 2019-2020 on among others, hospitality and refreshments.
In the same period, states the report, government ministries and agencies spent Sh3.5 billion on travels, both domestic and foreign and Sh806 million on snacks and tea.
The previous year, they had used Sh781 million on hospitality, Sh25 million more compared to what was spent on hospitality alone in the year under review.
Sh683.7 million was spent on training, which is a rise, compared to the Sh553 million used for the same purpose in the same financial period last year.
The report ranks the Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries emerging as the highest spenders.
The revelations come despite National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani's attempts to tame reckless expenditures, which has since seen him ban benchmarking trips.
"The expenditure control measures outlined in this circular are aimed at enhancing prudent financial management by ensuring that we live within our means, create savings for the much-needed service delivery and foster financial responsibility,” he said in a circular in September.
On the other hand, President Uhuru Kenyatta has since ordered the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to come up with new revenue tapping methods.
He has also directed the judiciary to expedite cases involving tax evasion and the likes.