Senators have struck a blow at the next crop of members of the county assemblies (MCAs) by slashing their recurrent expenditure budget.
Details of the reduction of MCAs’ expenses are contained in the county government recurrent budget ceilings for this financial year, which began on Friday, as passed by the Senate before it adjourned indefinitely for the August polls.
The capping will affect the county lawmakers’ allowances , which include foreign and local travel stipends and mileage. The Senate approved a Sh34.5 billion recurrent budget ceiling for county assemblies—a Sh1.1 billion cut from the Sh35.6 billion allocation in the 2021/22 financial year that has just ended.
County executives will, however, enjoy a higher recurrent budget ceiling of Sh28.5 billion, up from Sh26.7 billion. The ceilings are based on the review of the existing legislation and Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) circulars on personal benefits and adjusted expenditure to factor in increases and decreases in pay and allowances. Senators reduced expenditure allocation of 43 county assemblies, targeting expenses on personnel emoluments, training and insurance and other operations and maintenance. Only four county assemblies saw their budget increased.
“The committee extensively considered the recommendation of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), request by the County Assemblies Forum (CAF), the Society of Clerks at the Table, and various county assemblies on the county government recurrent expenditure ceilings for the financial year 2022/23 as provided in the PFM (Public Financial Management) Act,” stated the report of the Finance and Budget Committee.
The CRA pegged the county assemblies’ budget ceilings on salaries, allowances, mileage, insurance and gratuity for speakers and MCAs. Other considerations included assemblies’ staff, their service board and secretariat and operations. “The decrease in the assemblies’ budget ceilings is due to salaries and benefits associated with the new MCAs, who will start at the base after the August polls,” reads the report. “Notwithstanding the decrease in the county assemblies’ recurrent expenditure ceiling, the provision of training and induction of new MCAs had been adjusted from five to 10 per cent of the total personnel emoluments.”
An additional Sh83.4 million was also allocated to the MCAs to enable them to compensate their employees in this financial year. The senators also observed that there is a provision for a one-off clearance of pending bills in the current budget.
The determination of salaries of county assemblies’ staff (salaries, pension, and allowances) was based on approved optimum numbers, instead of actual staff numbers. The senators noted that some counties urged them to increase their budget ceilings, arguing that they were servicing some pending bills that had accrued over the years.
The Nairobi county assembly, for instance, saw its budget ceiling reduced from the current Sh1.5 billion to Sh1.4 billion in the new financial year, while that of the county executives increased to 816.3 million from Sh759.6million.
In requesting senators to increase the budget ceiling, the assembly cited additional Sh40 million needed to cater for meaningful public participation, pending litigation (Sh300 million), furnishing of MCAs’ offices (Sh80 million) and a Sh420 million debt. However, senators observed that the request on the adjustment of the expenditure ceilings on the leasing of MCAs’ offices within the proximity of the assembly premises would be expensive in the long run. Additionally, the senators noted that the spending would be classified as development expenditure, and not recurrent.
In justifying the increase in budget ceilings for county executives from Sh26 billion to Sh28 billion, the senators argued that it was informed by the need to provide operational costs for offices of county attorneys.
Since 2014, county governments have seen their executive vote ceilings increase—from Sh13.4 billion to Sh20.6 billion in the following year and Sh20.8 billion in 2016. In 2017, the figure increased to Sh25.8 billion, followed by another increment of Sh0.9 billion in the following year. In the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, the figure decreased by Sh71 million. “The major increase was in 2015/2016 and 2017/2018—54.7 per cent and 24.2 per cent respectively. However, the ceilings remained the same for 2019/20 to 2021/22,” stated Senator Charles Kibiru, the chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, which made the proposals to the House.
