A new report shows that the wage bill in the counties has shot up by Sh13.75 billion over the last one year alone.
The expenditure report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o shows the devolved units splashed Sh208.84 billion on personnel emoluments.
This is compared to Sh195.09 billion incurred the year before.
“Overall, county governments spent Sh208.84 billion on personnel emoluments, which accounted for 47 per cent of the total expenditure of Sh446.76 billion,” the report states.
Interestingly however, counties spent only 24 per cent of their annual budgets on development during the period.
This is against the legal requirement of at least 30 per cent.
The county governments spent Sh109.23 billion on development activities in the 2023-24 financial year.
This means resources allocated for salaries double allocation for development.
The report shows that many counties fell short of the 30 per cent requirement by far.
Nairobi City County for instance, spent only 10.3 per cent of its budget on development.
Kisii spent 13.7 per cent, Mombasa at 16.2 per cent, Kisumu at 17.5 per cent, Taita Taveta 18.6 per cent and Kiambu at 19.4 per cent.
Other counties that did not meet the 30 per cent threshold on development are Vihiga (21.0 per cent), Kakamega (20.2 per cent), Kirinyaga (21.7 per cent), Nandi (21.4 per cent), Makueni (22.9 per cent), West Pokot (22.9 per cent), Elgeyo Marakwet (23.2 per cent), Machakos (23.5 per cent), Kericho (24.2 per cent)and Samburu (24.2 per cent).
According to the report, personnel expenditure by only three counties was within the 35 per cent ceiling.
They are Kilifi, Tana River and Narok.
The wage bill revelation are an indictment to governors who have often been accused of excessive hiring, especially of their political campaigners.
However, the county chiefs have always defended themselves, saying they inherited the huge workforce.
They also say the implementation of various collective bargaining agreements with workers has ballooned spending on personnel.
“The Controller of Budget recommends that county governments develop and implement strategies to enhance development budget expenditures, achieve the 30 per cent threshold provided in law and improve their citizens’ living standards,” the report states.
Section 107(2) (b) of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012 provides that over the medium term, a minimum of 30 per cent of the county government’s budget shall be spent on development expenditure.
Further, Nyakang’o exposed how some counties are processing payments for their workers manually, triggering concerns that they could be paying non-existent workers.
During the year under review, some Sh15.89 billion was processed manually and paid outside the government payroll system.
Counties that spent the highest on personnel emoluments include Nairobi (Sh18.27 billion), Kiambu (Sh7.71 billion), Kakamega (Sh7.08 billion) and Mombasa (Sh6.8 billion).
Others are Nakuru (Sh6.75 billion), Kisii (Sh6.21 billion), Bungoma (Sh6.04 billion), and Turkana (Sh5.57 billion).
Meru (Sh5.05 billion), Kisumu (Sh5.04 billion), Uasin Gishu (Sh4.54 billion) and Nyeri (Sh4.23 billion) are the other big spenders on personnel emolument.
“The CoB recommends that county governments ensure expenditure on personnel emoluments is contained at sustainable levels and in compliance with Regulation 25 (1) (b) of the PFM (County Governments) Regulations, 2015,” Nyakang’o said.
The counties that spent the least amount on personnel emoluments include Lamu (Sh1.85 billion), Isiolo (Sh2.11 billion), Vihiga (Sh2.61 billion), Samburu (Sh2.62 billion) and Nyandarua (Sh2.77 billion).
“Further, county governments should fast-track the acquisition of Unified Personnel Numbers for their staff and ensure payroll is processed through the prescribed government system,” Nyakang’o stated.
