Some 17 counties recorded an absorption rate of less than 50 per cent of their development allocations in the last financial year, hurting momentum in the execution of crucial plans on roads, water, agriculture and health.
A report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o for the financial year 2021/22 notes that less development spending means stifled growth in the devolved units.
The 17 counties are Garissa (29.3 per cent), Nairobi (29.3 per cent), Kisumu (31.5 per cent), Machakos (32.6 per cent), Taita-Taveta (33 per cent), Narok (33.4 per cent), Vihiga (33.5 per cent), Busia (33.8 per cent), Kilifi (35.4 per cent) and Mombasa (37 per cent).
Also on the list are Turkana (39.5 per cent), Nyandarua (39.8 per cent), Murang’a (41.7 per cent), Baringo (43.9 per cent), Bungoma (44 per cent), Kisii (46.1 per cent) and Laikipia (47.6 per cent).
Governors have in the past blamed delays in the disbursement of funds by the National Treasury for the low absorption rates. They say the piecemeal disbursements affect county planning and execution of projects.
As of June 30, according to the CoB, only Mandera, Kakamega and Marsabit attained an absorption rate above 70 per cent at 73.4 per cent and 70.8 per cent, respectively.
“The low absorption of the development budget indicated that counties did not prioritise the implementation of development projects in FY 2021/22.
“The CoB recommends that the identified 17 county governments develop and implement strategies to enhance the utilisation of funds allocated for development activities in the coming financial year. Further, county governments should ensure that expenditure on development activities meets the minimum set ceiling of 30 per cent of their budgets,” Dr Nyakango states in the report.
The Public Finance Management Act, of 2012, provides that over the medium term, a minimum of 30 per cent of a county government’s budget shall be spent on development programmes.
Cumulatively, development expenditure amounted to Sh98.47 billion, representing an absorption rate of 50.9 per cent, a decline from 62.1 per cent in FY 2020/21 when total development expenditure was Sh116.07 billion.
On pending bills, counties reported accumulated pending bills amounting to Sh153.02 billion, comprising Sh151.68 billion by the executives and Sh1.34 billion by the assemblies. Outstanding pending bills by Nairobi City County accounted for 69.5 per cent of the entire stock of pending bills at Sh99.06 billion.
Other counties with a high amount of pending bills are Mombasa at Sh5.87 billion and Kiambu at Sh5.23 billion.
Also on the spot are counties that made high wage payments through manual systems, which are prone to abuse and may lead to the loss of public funds due to a lack of proper controls.
The report says wages amounting to Sh15.63 billion were processed through manual systems and vouchers, which is contrary to government policy that requires such payments to be processed through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database.
Counties that made the payments are Bomet (Sh1.24 billion), Nakuru (Sh1.06 billion), Garissa (Sh1.03 billion), Vihiga (Sh934.89 million), Siaya (Sh792.55 million), Kiambu (Sh776.11 million), Homa Bay (Sh694.33 million), Laikipia (Sh646.68 million), Kisumu (Sh515.30 million) and Murang’a (Sh504.12 million).
