A total of 763 Kenyans have gone to the COP28 summit in Dubai but only 51 are government officials travelling at the taxpayer's expense.
Originally President Ruto was given a list of 189 officials but he demanded that it should be reduced to less than 60.
So Kenya has done better than other African countries like Uganda (600 delegates of whom 375 are government officials including 58 MPs and four ministers). Nigeria, Morocco, and Ghana have also sent more taxpayer-funded delegates to Dubai than Kenya.
Nevertheless Kenya's participation raises two fundamental issues.
Firstly, is it worthwhile attending a conference that is just a 10-day talking shop? Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, went to COP for just a few hours. President Ruto was only there for two days. Why do officials need to go for 10 days?
Secondly, what is the carbon footprint? There are over 97,000 delegates to COP28, double last year's COP in Sharm el-Sheikh. That is good for Dubai and Emirates Airlines but it is bad for the atmosphere.
Eritrea sent seven delegates in total to COP28, including government officials. Maybe Kenya should have done the same.
Quote of the day: "In society, liberty for one may mean the suppression of liberty for others."
Gunnar Myrdal
The Swedish economist was born on December 6, 1898
