An audit report has revealed how newly elected governors and members of county assemblies (MCAs) blew billions of shillings in non-priority expenditure after the August 2022 General Elections.
The report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o cites expenditure on landscaping, beautification of buildings, sitting allowances, and unnecessary and extensive domestic and foreign travel as among those that gobbled up huge amounts of cash in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.
The report shows that county governments cumulatively spent Sh67.47 billion between July and September 2023, a marked increase from Sh54.82 billion spent in a similar period the previous year.
“The total expenditure by county governments in the first quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year was Sh67.47 billion, representing an absorption rate of 12.6 per cent of the total annual county governments’ budget of Sh534.63billion,” reads the report.
During the same period, county assemblies spent a total of Sh312.98 million on MCAs’ sitting allowances, a 249.2 per cent increase compared to Sh89.63 million incurred in a similar period a year earlier.
The report, however, notes recurrent expenditure during the period, which amounted to Sh60.52 billion, was an improvement from Sh52.6 billion recorded in a similar period of the 2022/2023 financial year.
The CoB report further shows that counties used a total of Sh41.79 billion (69 per cent of the total recurrent expenditure) on personnel emoluments and Sh18.76 billion (31 per cent of the total recurrent expenditure) on operations and maintenance.
Interestingly, a paltry Sh6.9 billion was used on development by all the 47 county governments during the period despite huge expenditure on non-priority activities.
"Counties spent Sh6.9 billion on development activities during the period under review," says the report.
It also indicates that most of the millions spent on non-priority activities could not be clearly accounted for.
Instead of the newly elected governors prioritising things such as improvement of health facilities, upgrade of roads and hospitals especially in rural areas, the county bosses' expenditure focused on other non-priority activities.
But the most shocking are revelations of extravagance on foreign and domestic travel by Members of County Assemblies an extravagance on foreign and domestic travel.
The report reveals that during the year under review, within just three months MCAs cumulatively spent Sh3 billion in travel allowances.
This means during the three months between June and September,MCAs were either on the road or on the skies during foreign trips.
Ms Nyakang’o has now raised a red flag seeking a stop to what she has termed as unnecessary foreign and local travel.
"All county assemblies must first seek foreign travel clearance, before embarking on the trips to save taxpayers billions of shillings.No MCA should travel without clearance,"said the CoB.
For instance,the report has put on the spot Nairobi County MCAs , who spent the highest amount in local travel.
MCAs in Nairobi spent Sh94 million in just three months translating to Sh31 million, every month on local travel alone.
On foreign travel the city MCAs blew Sh8.9 million on the skies on foreign travel, in just three months with the controller of budget noting that most of the tours were never approved.
Governors Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi), Wavinya Ndeti (Machakos), Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi) are among the 10 county bosses who have not spent a cent on development between July and September 2023.
Photo credit: POOL
The CoB has also fingered Migori MCAs who in three months flushed Sh81 million on local travel and Sh2.7 million in Tanzania, Uganda and Norway.
MCAs in the coastal county of Mombasa have not been left behind as they pocketed Sh17 million for their stay in high-end destinations such as Singapore, Turkey, Dubai and Switzerland.
Others flagged by the CoB are Narok ,Marsabit and Nyamira MCAs.
Narok MCAs spent Sh45.5 million for local travel within three months alone. The MCAs however did not travel abroad within that period.
In Nyamira County, MCAs spent a total of Sh32 million on travel while Nakuru county MCAs spent Sh40.9 million locally Sh9.7 million in Arusha, Kampala and Indiana,United States of America.
However,Ms Nyakang'o has raised issues with pending requisitions on foreign travel as at the end of the period under review.
"Although the county assembly reported no expenditure on foreign travel,there were pending requisitions on foreign travel as at the end of the period under review," noted the CoB.
Expenditure on domestic travel for the three months between July and September by the MCAs, amounted to Sh10.25 million.
In Bomet, the county assembly spent Sh3.9 million on committee sitting allowances for the 38 MCAs and the speaker, against an annual budget allocation of Sh24.05 million.
On travel expenses, the regional assembly spent Sh27.80 million.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, MCAs spent Sh4.96 million on sitting allowances for the 33 MCAs and the speaker against the annual budget allocation of Sh30.99 million.
During the period, expenditure on domestic travel by the MCAs amounted to Sh31.47 million.
In Embu, the county assembly spent Sh12.3 million on committee sitting allowances for the 30 MCAs and the speaker against the annual budget allocation of Sh86.4 million. During the period, expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh24 million.
Carissa county assembly spent Sh4.87 million on committee sitting allowances for the 48 MCAs and the speaker against the annual budget allocation of Sh30 million.
During the period, expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh23.04 million.
During the period, expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh124.37 million and comprised Sh47.60 million spent by the county assembly and Sh76.67 million by the county executive. There was no foreign expenditure reported during the period.
Photo credit: Stanslaus Manthi | NMG
Kiambu county assembly spent Sh18.9 million on committee sitting allowances for the 89 MCAs and the speaker against the annual budget allocation of Sh50 million. The average monthly sitting allowance was Sh70,930 per MCA.
In Kilifi, the county assembly spent Sh8.3 million on committee sitting allowances for the 56 MCAs and the Speaker against the annual budget allocation of Sh31.95 million.
The average monthly sitting allowance was Sh49,207 per MCA.
The Baringo county assembly spent Sh19 million on landscaping and beautification of the speaker’s residential buildings, drilling and equipping of water boreholes at the county assembly.
The speaker’s residence cost Sh10 million while proposed installation of electric, razor wires and CCTV at the residence cost another Sh10 million.
In contrast, purchase and installation of interior designs of county assembly chambers cost Sh4.5 million while feasibility studies on project preparation and design for CCTV, boreholes and landscaping gobbled Sh9 million.
Among governors, who have been put on the spot for wasteful expenditure, include Baringo’s Benjamin Cheboi , Kimani Wa Matangi (Kiambu), Nadhif Jama (Garissa), Joseph Ole Lenku (Kajiado) and Wisley Rotich (Elgeyo Marakwet).
For instance in Baringo county, which spent Sh126 million on its World Bank Emergency Locusts Project, governor Benjamin Cheboi's administration has been fingered for failing to submit quarterly financial reports of county established funds, to the CoB.
In Bomet, the county spent Sh59.57 million-which comprised Sh27.80 million spent by the county assembly and Sh31.77 million by the county executive while on foreign travel the expenditure amounted Sh10.68 million.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, the county spent Sh31.8 million on sports development and Sh27.7 million on Sports Talent Development.
During the period, expenditure on domestic travel for the county amounted to Sh42.01 million and comprised Sh31.47 million spent by the County Assembly and Sh10.54 million by the County Executive
In Embu, during the period, expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh30.15 million and comprised Sh24 million spent by the county assembly and Sh6.15 million by the county executive.
In Garissa, Governor Nadhif Jama is on the spot after the county spent Sh169.4 million on its emergency locust response project and another Sh 128 million on De-risking , inclusion and value enhancement of pastoral economies in the Horn of Africa projects, but did not provide financial reports to account for the expenditure.
Kajiado spent Sh50 million on the executive’s car loan and mortgage and Sh10 million on liquor fund.
Kiambu county spent Sh82 million on alcoholic drinks control fund, Sh112. 5 million on the county’s executive’s car loan and mortgage scheme fund, while the climate fund got Sh256 million.
