Ten months to the 2027 General Election, governors have quietly opened thousands of commercial bank accounts, some of which have been flagged as irregular, a report has shown.
The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the first nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year shows that counties were operating a total of 6,585 commercial bank accounts as of March 31, 2026.
The number has increased by about 3,000 within just one year, raising fresh concerns over transparency in the management of devolved funds.
In the three months between December 2025 and March 2026 alone, the number of commercial bank accounts increased by 199, from 6,386 to 6,585.
“As at March 31, 2026, county governments reported 6,585 commercial bank accounts, an increase from 6,386 accounts reported as at December 31 last year and 3,431 reported at the beginning of 2025. However, the County Treasuries had not submitted copies of authorisation letters for the accounts, as required, thereby limiting transparency and assurance regarding the number and purpose of the accounts maintained by the counties,” the report says.
Under the Public Finance Management (PFM) regulations, counties are expected to hold their accounts at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) with only a limited number of special-purpose accounts permitted in commercial banks after obtaining approval.
Regulation 82 of the PFM (County Governments) Regulations, 2015, requires accounting officers to obtain written authorisation before opening bank accounts. County treasuries are also required to submit copies of the authorisation letters to the Controller of Budget.
The authorisation is intended to ensure that the accounts are legal and that their purpose is known.
However, counties have been found to be violating the regulations which restrict the opening of commercial bank accounts except for imprest accounts for petty cash and revenue collection.
“The only exemption is for imprest bank accounts for petty cash and revenue collection bank accounts,” Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o says in the report covering spending up to March 31, 2026.
Ms Nyakang’o accused counties of failing to disclose the purpose of the numerous bank accounts, amid concerns that they could be used to siphon taxpayers’ money.
She warned that the omission makes it difficult to verify the legality, purpose and completeness of the commercial bank accounts maintained by county entities.
The findings come against a backdrop of growing scrutiny of public financial management in the counties.
The Controller of Budget has in previous reports flagged the proliferation of commercial bank accounts as a major governance risk, warning that it creates opportunities for misuse of public funds while weakening accountability.
The opening of opaque bank accounts has remained one of the persistent governance concerns in Kenya’s devolved units since the establishment of county governments in 2013.
According to the report, Makueni County increased its commercial bank accounts from 24 to 254 in the three months between December 2025 and March 2026.
Busia increased its accounts from 57 to 151 during the same period, while Taita Taveta increased its number from 37 to 102.
Among the counties with the highest number of commercial bank accounts were Kitui with 493, followed by Nakuru with 311 and Kirinyaga with 305.
The unauthorised commercial bank accounts form part of a broader list of governance weaknesses identified by the Controller of Budget during the period under review.
To address the banking concerns, Ms Nyakang’o directed county governments to submit copies of authorisation letters for all commercial bank accounts maintained by county entities.
“County Treasuries should strictly comply with the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015, by ensuring that for every commercial bank account opened under their mandates, a copy of the letter authorising the relevant Accounting Officer is promptly submitted to the Controller of Budget for records and oversight,” she said.
Attempts to get comments from governors whose counties had the highest number of commercial bank accounts were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages sent to them went unanswered.
However, a county executive committee member in charge of finance, whose county has more than 200 commercial bank accounts, said most of the accounts belonged to health facilities and were operated by committees supervised by the County Treasury.
“The bank accounts were opened as a result of the FIF Act 2023, which was passed by the National Assembly and the Senate to ring-fence health funds and promote efficiency at the facility level. The accounts are mainly used to pay bills such as electricity and to receive Social Health Insurance claims for patients served,” the official said.
A Finance Chief Officer from a South Rift county, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the accounts were used to manage projects, newly established municipalities, vocational training institutes and health facilities, including dispensaries.
However, none of the officials explained why the accounts had been established without the authorisation required under the regulations cited by the Controller of Budget.
