Senator Onyonka raises alarm over misuse of county funds, faults weak systems
By Kiprono Keileb, April 2, 2026Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has raised concern over how counties are managing public funds, warning that weak systems and lack of accountability are draining millions every month across devolved units. He pointed to failures in tracking workers and revenue collection as major gaps that continue to hurt service delivery at the grassroots.
Speaking during a Senate proceeding on Thursday, April 2, 2026, the Kisii Senator addressed fellow lawmakers on the state of county governance and the need for urgent reforms to protect public resources and restore order in payroll and revenue systems.
Onyonka explained that many county governments have failed to carry out biometric staff registration, leaving room for manipulation of payrolls and inflated wage bills that burden taxpayers and stall development projects meant to benefit ordinary citizens.
“Many of the county governments, close to 40, have never done a biometric registration exercise to know the total number of workers in the county system who are either permanent and pensionable or temporary workers,” Onyonka stated.
The Senator stated that most of the governors who are against the Senate’s oversight role are the ones who do their operations manually, allowing manipulations of payrolls and inflated wage bills for them to get money to run their politics.
“Many of the governors who are saying the Senate is useless and in fact we have no business talking to them, are the ones who have been keeping those lists where they are having a manual list and are paying a wage bill of about 40 to 50 million a month, that money is what is the cash cow that they utilise to do politics. In Kisii county, for example, our pending bills when I was elected years ago were Ksh 1.2 billion and up to now, close to Ksh 700 or Ksh 800 million has been paid out as a pending bill,” Onyonka stated.
He further highlighted that beyond payroll issues, counties are also losing significant revenue due to outdated and manual collection systems, which make it difficult to track income and seal loopholes that allow funds to disappear.
“Most of the funds are collected manually in many counties, while some very good counties have gone the electronic way, and we appreciate them for that. We have seen what they are doing,” He said.
Onyonka said there is a need for county governments to adopt digital systems, improve transparency, and align with oversight requirements set by the Senate. He went further to call for stronger systems that can help counties account for every shilling and ensure funds are directed to development instead of being lost through inefficiencies.