Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi has criticised President William Ruto's visits to different countries.
During an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, Osotsi claimed that this was insensitive, given the country's economic challenges and high cost of living.
He suggested that it would be more appropriate if Ruto only traveled for critical issues, with most other matters handled by the Cabinet Secretaries responsible for foreign affairs or the Minister of Trade.
He said the president travels with a large team of people, involving a lot of logistics.
"As the value of the dollar has now reached Sh150, I believe it is insensitive for a leader in charge of a country facing economic challenges to continue traveling," he opined.
"The travel becomes very expensive when the President embarks on these trips," he noted.
Osotsi drew a comparison between the number of trips taken by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, highlighting that Ruto had undertaken several journeys within a single year.
"Uhuru traveled to 53 countries in 10 years, while Ruto has traveled to 38 countries in just one year," Osotsi claimed.
Osotsi mentioned that the control budget had raised concerns about travel expenditures, leading to the implementation of cost-cutting measures primarily focused on reducing travel expenses.
"It is quite contradictory that while the head of the public service has reduced travel for public servants, the country's leader continues to travel," he said.
He, however, acknowledged that some of these trips might yield positive results, but also argued that most of the trips were unnecessary.
"The President doesn't have to travel; he has a foreign minister who can attend these functions, and the trade minister can also handle some of these trips. He doesn't need to travel all the time," Osotsi stated.
Osotsi urged Ruto to learn from countries like Nigeria, where all travel was suspended, resulting in economic stability within a year and a reduction in unnecessary trips.
"Other line ministers in his government can undertake these unnecessary travels, not the President himself," Osotsi recommended.
He pointed out that the recent trip to Saudi Arabia could have been carried out by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi.
For instance, he noted that the deal between Kenya and Saudi Arabia to import fuel had not benefitted the country as intended, as it was supposed to reduce fuel prices but had instead led to an increase.
"We want to see tangible results, and these results should not be just words. We want to witness their impact on the cost of living, the exchange rate, inflation; they must be tangible," he emphasized.