Where are your budgets? Nyakang’o seeks answers from 16 counties as Mbadi releases funds

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has raised the alarm over 16 counties that are yet to submit their 2025-26 budgets, with only 15 days left before the close of the first quarter.

 Her warning comes as National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi released more than Sh30 billion to counties for July—funds the non-compliant counties will be unable to access.

 “Next week, on Monday or Tuesday, I will be releasing money to the counties for July,” Mbadi said last week.

 The CoB’s office has confirmed that the Treasury has already made the full disbursement for July.

 However, counties without approved budgets cannot place requisitions to finance specific budget lines.

 According to CoB data, the counties yet to submit their approved budgets are: Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Meru, Embu, Nyandarua, Turkana, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Kajiado, Kericho, Bungoma, Busia, Siaya and Kisumu.

 Another 20 counties have submitted budgets for review, but remain uncleared due to compliance concerns raised by the CoB.

 These are Nyamira, Kakamega, Bomet, Narok, Nakuru, Laikipia, Baringo, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Samburu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Machakos, Tharaka Nithi, Taita Taveta, Lamu, Tana River, Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa.

 Only 10 counties have had their budgets approved and can access funds. They include Nairobi, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Vihiga, West Pokot, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Makueni and Kitui. Approval is a prerequisite for placing requisitions to finance specific budget lines.

 The revelations challenge a common narrative among county leaders, who have often blamed the Treasury for delays in disbursement.

 By law, county governments must submit approved budgets to the CoB by June 30 each year to enable fund requisitions.

 “They should submit immediately after June 30. They are already breaking the law if the assembly does not pass the budget by that date,” Nyakang’o told the Star.

 She noted that, in contrast, her office received the national government’s signed budget from the President immediately after the June 30 deadline.

 Sources say the budget submission delays stem from wrangles between county executives and assemblies, laxity by executives in forwarding budgets for approval and slow processing by assemblies.

 In several counties, political infighting has paralysed key operations, including the passage of financial plans.

 Nyakang’o described the relationship between some county executives and assemblies as “dysfunctional” and “convoluted,” with political rivalry often overshadowing service delivery.

 “In some cases, assemblies engage in what can only be described as political blackmail—deliberately delaying, rewriting, or rejecting proposals to extract concessions from governors, assert power, or settle scores,” she said.

 Bungoma county is a case in point. A bitter power struggle between Governor Kenneth Lusaka’s administration and the county assembly has escalated into a legal battle.

 The assembly is accused of disbanding the legally constituted budget committee, replacing it with an ad hoc team that significantly altered the executive’s proposal.

 “There is a serious case in Bungoma. The assembly disbanded the budget committee and formed an ad hoc one, which then mutilated the proposed budget. They passed their own version using coercive tactics,” Nyakang’o said.

 Following the fallout, the courts intervened and barred the disbursement of funds, freezing county operations and stalling Lusaka’s development agenda.

 INSTANT ANALYSIS

The Office of the Controller of Budget, established under Article 228 of the Constitution, is an independent institution mandated to oversee the implementation of both national and county budgets by authorising withdrawals from public funds.