Mary Mwiti raises concern over continued delay in releasings funds to counties
By Kiprono Keileb, August 5, 2025Council of Governors CEO Mary Mwiti says counties are struggling to roll out development projects because of continued delays in fund disbursements from the National Treasury.
Speaking during a local radio interview on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, Mwiti raised concern over a four-month delay in the release of county funds, warning that the financial gridlock is crippling service delivery and unfairly tarnishing the image of county governments.
“There has been a four-month delay in the disbursement of funds to counties. For that reason, you cannot commit what you don’t have,” Mwiti said.
She explained that under Kenya’s revised public finance system, the country now uses cash-based accounting instead of accrual. This means counties can only plan for and report funds that have been disbursed, not those that are promised or pending.
“We are moving from accrual to cash basis. This is going to change the narrative. Before, it used to be an accrual basis of accounting; you could not account for what you had not spent. If there is a delay in disbursement for four months, then you have nothing to absorb,” she said.
Mwiti criticised some oversight bodies for reporting on county performance without acknowledging the delays in fund disbursement, which she said play a major role in slowing down county operations
“What have we seen with the independent commissions? If the disbursement is done today, the next day the Controller of Budget releases a report on absorption of resources at the county level, but if you are stuck on resources for four months, where will you commit from?” she asked
She defended county governments against claims of inefficiency, explaining that delayed cash flow from the exchequer makes it difficult for them to plan properly and deliver essential services on time.
“We cannot put the context of absorption without addressing the issue of the timely release of resources to county governments. I want to confirm that counties have suffered ordinary and at times punitive delays in terms of these releases,” Mwiti asserted.
She called for a national conversation on financial discipline, transparency, and shared responsibility, saying it is unfair to judge the counties for low budget absorption without acknowledging their constrained environment.
“It is a question of all of us, whether you are an accountant or just a layman, you will be able to understand the challenge. You cannot commit on empty promises,” she said.
Mwiti urged all arms of government and financial institutions to uphold the spirit of devolution by ensuring the timely release of funds, warning that continued delays could paralyse the very gains the Constitution intended to deliver to ordinary Kenyans.