Murang’a County Senator Joe Nyutu has spoken about the growing concern over excessive travel by county assembly members.

Speaking during a morning TV interview on Thursday, December 18, 2025, he questioned the necessity of some trips, pointing out that modern technology allows legislators to access information without travelling abroad.

He noted that travel itself is not inherently bad. It allows for social interaction and the chance to ask questions that may not be possible online. However, he criticised trips that bring no tangible benefits to counties.

“Of course, I agree with you that you don’t have to travel to know what happens in a particular, maybe, jurisdiction, a different jurisdiction or something like that.  But then there’s also that social interaction that you get with the travel,” he said.

“What is very bad,” he said, “and that is why the Controller of Budget is complaining, is when we just travel but do not do anything – no development at all in the county.”

County Assemblies need autonomy

Nyutu said county governments face high recurrent expenditure because they inherited large workforces from the old local authorities. This has made it difficult to maintain the requirement that only 35 per cent of funds be spent on recurrent costs.

Nevertheless, he agreed with the Controller of Budget that some travel is wasting a lot of public money, particularly when it comes at the expense of county development.

The senator also raised concerns about the independence of county assemblies. He argued that some assemblies are compromised and too dependent on the county executive for funding. He supported recommendations that county assemblies receive funds directly, rather than through the county government.

“This way, MCAs will be able to carry out primary oversight,” he said.

Nyutu emphasised the role of the Senate in Kenya. He explained that the Senate only performs secondary oversight. It cannot approve or disapprove county expenditures; that power rests with the county assembly. The Senate’s role is to assess what counties have done and make recommendations, not to control spending.

“Only by giving county assemblies financial autonomy,” he said, “can they operate independently of county executives. That is when we can curb waste in foreign and domestic travel.”