Just 12 out of the 47 counties were the shining stars of development expenditure, spending more than 70 percent of the allocated budgets in the 2024/2025 financial year.
In total, the 12 counties spent Sh35.2 billion out of the Sh123.76 billion used by all devolved units in development activities.
According to the County Governments Implementation Review Report for the 2024/2025 financial year by the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Narok, Meru, Kericho, Mandera, Kirinyaga, Makueni, Marsabit Murang'a, Samburu and Wajir counties achieved the highest absorption rates of development expenditure.
The latest report shows Nandi had a 90 percent development absorption rate, followed by Trans Nzoia (77 percent), Narok (74) and Meru (73). Kericho, Mandera and Kirinyaga all tied at 72 percent.
Makueni, Marsabit, Murang'a, Samburu and Wajir counties closed the list with 71 percent each.
"During the period under review, all county governments spent Sh123.76 billion on development activities, representing an absorption rate of 57 percent of the annual development budget of Sh218.99 billion," reads part of the report.
This means the counties spent Sh346.98 billion (74 percent) of the total Sh470.74 billion allocated on recurrent expenditure and only used Sh123.76 billion (26 percent) on development the whole year.
Compared to the previous year, 2023/2024, expenditure on recurrent activities rose to Sh10.98 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year.
The report further reveals that Nandi spent Sh3.3 billion on development out of a Sh3.6 billion development budget while Trans Nzoia spent Sh3.4 billion out of a development budget of Sh4.3 4.3 billion.
On its part, Narok spent Sh3.96 billion out of Sh5.3 billion set aside for development during the year, whereas Meru spent Sh2.8 billion, Kericho (Sh2.6 billion), Mandera (Sh4 billion), Kirinyaga (Sh2.1 billion), Makueni (Sh2.6 billion), Marsabit (Sh3 billion), Murang’a (Sh2.3billion, Samburu (Sh1.5 billion) and Wajir (Sh3.6 billion). Closing the list of the top spenders in development during the period.
In contrast, the counties with the lowest development absorption rates were Kisii (40 percent), Elgeyo Marakwet (39 percent), Kiambu and Nyamira (37 percent), and Kisumu and Nairobi at 29 percent.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration, for instance, spent only Sh4 billion on development out of the Sh14.2 billion development budget, while Governor Simba Arati spent Sh2.4 billion out of the Sh6.1billion development budget.
However, the Sh4 billion spent by Governor Sakaja on development programmes in the 2024/25 financial year was an increase up from Sh2.72 billion in 2023/24, representing a 50.6 percent increase.
It emerged that most counties failed to spend on development, but burnt millions on wasteful expenditures like unnecessary allowances for county assemblies and executive officials, as well as local and foreign travel.
“The total expenditure by county governments in the 2024/2025 financial year was Sh470.74 billion, representing an overall absorption rate of 78 percent of the total annual county governments’ budget of Sh601.69 billion,” further reads the report.
A review of cumulative expenditure by economic classification showed that Sh220.64 billion was spent on personnel emoluments, Sh126.34 billion on operations and maintenance, and Sh123.76 billion on development.
However, during the period, 12 counties reached or exceeded 100 percent of their annual revenue targets.
These were Kisii (178 percent), Tana River (133), Mandera and Wajir (123), Kirinyaga (122), Garissa (120), Vihiga (117), and Samburu at 110 percent.
During the period, county governments collectively generated Sh67.30 billion from own-source revenue (OSR), representing 77 per cent of the annual target of Sh87.67 billion.
This reflects significant growth compared to Sh41.40 billion generated in the same period in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Controller of Budget now recommends that to improve budget implementation, county governments should ensure that expenditure on personnel emoluments is contained at sustainable levels and in compliance with Regulation 25 (1) (b) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The Nation established that most of the governors have been held back from initiating meaningful development projects by high wage bills gobbling more than half of their counties' annual budgets, unpaid debts, some dating back to the defunct local authorities, and stalled projects they inherited from their predecessors.
The majority of the 47 counties enlisted the services of audit committees to scrutinise the pending bills before they embarked on making payments.
As of June 30, 2025, counties had reported outstanding bills of Sh176.90 billion.
Nairobi leads with pending bills totalling Sh 86.77 billion, 49 percent of the total pending bills reported in the 2024/2025 financial year.
The Controller of Budget and the Auditor-General, in their latest reports, have flagged several other county governments for using huge amounts of money in payment of salaries.
The two key public finance watchdogs cite unauthorised payment, overstaffing, and unsupported payments as key factors contributing to wastage in the public wage bill.
"There is wastage in counties through bloated wage bills. Some counties use up to 60 per cent of cash to pay salaries and only 40 percent is utilised on development,” said Nyakang'o in her latest report.
Data from both the Auditor General and the Controller of Budget show that most of the county governments have been exceeding the recommended salaries and wages expenditure of 35 percent for the past three years.
The Public Finance Management Act 2015 sets a limit of the county government’s expenditure on wages and benefits at 35 percent of the county’s total revenue.
