The Chairperson of the Council of Governors Ann Waiguru has come out to respond to a report by the controller of budget that revealed ten counties in the country did not spend any funds disbursed to them on development.
In a statement regarding the low development expenditure in some counties, Waiguru said,
“County expenditure is guided by integrated development plans, approved annual budgets, and work plans that are unique for each county. All expenditure by county governments must also be approved by the controller of budget in line with the constitution. Therefore, expecting uniform implementation of these and expenditure thereof is not only impractical but irregular.”
She also blamed the lack of development in some counties on the procurement process, saying ‘it can be a complex process that takes about 4 months and sometimes slows down the uptake of development expenditure’.
Waiguru also mentioned pending bills as a factor saying,
“County governments in line with good financial practices and the COB’s advisory pay off pending bills before funds are released to counties for development. A majority of these pending bills are on development.”
The controller of budget earlier released a report that revealed governors who did not spend any finances disbursed to them on development during the first quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year.
The report says these governors spent all the money released to them on salaries and other recurrent expenditures from July to September months of the current financial year.
The list includes Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Wavinya Ndeti of Machakos County, Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi), Cecily Mbarire (Embu), and Ahmed Abdullahi (Wajir).
There is also Governor Jonathan Lelelit (Samburu), Simon Kachapin (West Pokot), Jeremiah Lomorukai (Turkana, Eric Mutai (Kericho), and Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay).
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