• Outgoing budget controller recommends KRA should collect revenue for counties
• Says frequent fights between governors and MCAs are hurting development
Low own revenue, hostility between governors and MCAs and the ballooning wage bill are hampering effective budget implementation and slowing down development in counties.
This is the observation of the outgoing Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo as captured in her end of term report released on Tuesday.
Odhiambo said counties should review their revenue collection mechanisms and strategies, including seeking the services of the Kenya Revenue Authority to achieve targets and fund their budgets.
She pointed out that low revenue collection is the main hindrance to effective budget implementation and growth.
“Counties have continued to underperform in own source revenue collection which negatively affected the implementation of planned activities and also resulted in pending bills,” she said during the launch of CoB 2018-22 Strategic Plan in Nairobi.
The office of the Controller of Budget approves funds for national ministries, departments and agencies and county governments. The office oversees budget implementation and produces quarterly and yearly reports.
It was created by the 2010 Constitution that split it from the Kenya Audit Office (Kenao). Odhiambo became the first CoB in August 2011.
She said counties are losing billions in revenue because of leakages associated with their weak collection systems, leading to huge budget deficits.
Some counties, she observed, have been setting unrealistic targets that are based on previous revenue trends.
“In order to increase potential, counties should consider putting in place specific legislation on various revenue streams and the automation of revenue collection.”
She recommended establishment of a multi-agency task force on County Revenue Management Systems to implement the President’s directive on the need for a single revenue collection platform for all counties.
The budget boss further called on counties to rationalise their staffing levels to address the escalating personnel emoluments which are gobbling a huge chunk of counties' allocation.
For meaningful development to be realised, the wage bill should be checked as a matter of urgency, Odhiambo said.
The Public Finance Management Act and the accompanying regulations cap expenditures on wages and staff benefits at 35 per cent of a county’s total revenue.
Odhiambo observed that hostile relationships between governors and MCAs in some counties have delayed planning and budgeting processes thus delaying services.
She said she was proud of herself for having operationalised the office.
"This office was unique. It is the only one in Africa. We did not have staff apart from 22 that were seconded to us from the ministries."
The office has been timely in approving funds for counties and national government agencies and producing quarterly and yearly reports on budget implementation, Odhiambo said.
Speakers at the event included her husband Ezra, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi who was the chief guest, his Senate counterpart Kenneth Lusaka and governors Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Wilber Otichillo (Vihiga). They heaped praises on her for anchoring devolution in Kenya.
“You are the mother of devolution in Kenya. We have walked this journey with the counties from scratch. You have been advising and guiding them through especially in budget making,” Muturi said.
Lusaka said Odhiambo was strict and could not approve budgets that were not backed by law.
Edited by R.Wamochie