Waiguru defends governors for spending little on growth

Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson Anne Waiguru has highlighted challenges they have been experiencing in management of county expenditure and procurement processes.

In a statement yesterday, Waiguru said counties’ expenditures are guided by integrated development plans, approved annual budgets and work plans that are unique for each county.

“All expenditures 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 also irregular,” she said.

The Kirinyaga Governor was reacting to the Controller of Budget’s report which shows that counties are spending most of their resources on non-priority areas at the expense of development.

On procurement processes, Waiguru explained that counties align all of them to the law but the complexities sometimes slow down the uptake of development funds.

“County Governments recognise the importance of ensuring that procurement procedures are meticulous, transparent and adhere to the law in the spirit of accountability to the people we serve. Currently, it takes about four months to complete a procurement process,” Waiguru stated.

Conditional grants

Waiguru said that counties, in line with good financial practice and Controller of Budget’s advisory, pay off pending bills before funds are released to counties for development expenditure.

According to the Kirinyaga Governor, a majority of pending bills are on development. At the same time, she said that the delay by Parliament to enact the County Governments Additional

Allocations Bill, 2023 had constrained disbursement of conditional grants to counties.

“It is important to note that most of the ongoing development projects are funded by these grants. We further note that to date, Parliament is yet to pass this crucial Bill to allow for release and flow of funds to Counties to pay major projects that are ongoing,” Waiguru said.

Waiguru, however, said that Governors will continue collaborating with the office of Controller of Budget. “The Council of Governors is committed to collaboration and consultation between the County Governments and the Office of the Controller of Budget. We wish to assure members of the public that COG and 47 counties are fully committed to ensuring service delivery to every Kenyan.”

According to the Controller of Budget’s report, the 47 counties spent Sh60.3 billion on salaries and allowances and a paltry Sh6.9 billion on development, representing 3.7 per cent of the total allocation.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o said counties sunk billions of shillings in non-priority projects such as large sums on sitting allowances for MCAs, domestic and foreign travel, car loans and mortgages and landscaping and beautification of buildings.

Development funds

She said ten counties diverted all allocated funds to paying salaries and allowances and running operations. She was also concerned over some of the Governors who do not have development initiatives.

Nairobi is one of the counties on the Controller of Budget’s radar for spending nil on development despite a Sh14 billion allocation.

The report also shows that Nairobi used Sh176 million in four months for domestic travel, Sh11.9 million on foreign trips, Sh51.8 million on fuel alone and Sh28 million on hospitality.

Other counties that recorded zero development included Embu, Machakos, Wajir Homa Bay, Kericho, Kilifi, Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot.