Homes in London: Kenya is set to spend up to Sh. 1 billion to acquire a home in London that will be used to host the Kenyan embassy to the United Kingdom. This comes as the country moves to acquire homes in order to stop paying rent in Western capitals.
According to budget estimates that have been tabled in parliament by the National Treasury, money for the acquisition has already been set aside.
In addition to this purchase, the country may soon acquire additional homes or carry out renovations for its embassies in New York (UN), Canada, Washington, Russia, Australia, Geneva, Japan, China, South Korea and the Los Angeles. These embassies have been ruled as being in deplorable conditions. They were reportedly acquired shortly after independence in 1963.
This purchase will be the second for Kenya, after a multi-million deal that saw Kenya acquire homes in Switzerland for its missions.
It is currently estimated that Kenya spends up to Sh. 3 billion annually to rent houses for its foreign missions.
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According to the Controller of Budget (CoB) Kenya paid Sh. 662.82 million rent for consulates and diplomats for the three month period September 2020, in comparison to Sh. 253.2 million in the three months to September 2019.
