President to appoint two envoys in one foreign mission under new law

Kenya is currently represented by a single ambassador in each of its missions and the proposed changes will see taxpayers fork out more for salaries, allowances and rent, piling more pressure on the wage bill.

“A mission may have more than one person designated to serve as ambassador or High Commissioner,” the committee says in its report of the Foreign Service Bill, 2021.

The committee chaired by Kajiado South MP, Katoo Ole Metito said the push to have more than one ambassador in a single mission is in line with the practice in international diplomacy.

While the monthly pay for Kenyan diplomats remains undisclosed, the rental costs that average Sh3 billion a year and an increase in the number of ambassadors, will push up the expenses.

Diplomats in London and New York have been forced to rent homes and offices as residences built by taxpayers have fallen apart due to neglect.

Controller of Budget data shows that taxpayers spent Sh9.78 billion in rent, salaries and allowances for consulates and diplomats in the nine months to March, from Sh10.7 billion in similar period last year.

The push to increase the number of ambassadors in a single diplomatic mission is part of the changes that will empower the Salaries and Remuneration (SRC) to set the salaries and allowances of Kenyans working in foreign missions once every three years.

Currently, the Public Service Commission (PSC) sets the remuneration and allowances for diplomats and staff working in missions abroad.