Stop governors’ costly spending for progress
While the 47 counties have been lauded for enabling impressive development countrywide, not all the governors deserve praise for this. A good number of them are largely to blame for the rampant corruption, mismanagement, and plunder of public funds.
But it is in sheer extravagance that these leaders of the devolved units have increasingly earned their notoriety. Governors have often been criticised for low development spending and inability to unlock the potential of their counties.
The implementation of devolution in 13 years has yielded mixed results, with significant disparities in performance and development across the country. While some governors are consistently praised for transforming their counties through infrastructure, health, and agricultural projects, others face intense scrutiny for poor performance and misappropriation of funds.
Twelve governors have allocated more than Sh8 billion for the running of their offices, with financial records showing just how they prioritise administrative spending over development projects. In several counties, allocations surpass what is set aside for education, roads, water, energy and agriculture.
Some 58 per cent of the total financial allocations are to governors’ offices across 43 counties, reducing funding for key sectors while increasing spending on travel, hospitality and office operations. An analysis of the budget books for the current financial year has revealed that at least 43 governors will spend a total of Sh14.2 billion on their offices.
Counties have consistently failed to allocate at least 30 per cent of their budgets to development, as required by law, with the governors citing supposed financial constraints.
The Controller of Budget and the National Treasury have often highlighted how the counties have consistently failed to meet the threshold for development spending. In the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, 20 counties recorded zero development expenditure.
The governors should stop living large and allow their counties to increase allocations to development. They should also clamp down on wastage through huge allocations to their offices for extravagant items such as pricey curtains.
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