The Council of Governors has brushed off a report by the Office of the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o indicating that some County Governments did not spend any money on development in the first quarter.
In a statement on Wednesday, CoG Chairperson Anne Waiguru said counties face a myriad of challenges in the process of implementing development projects.
Waiguru pointed out procurement processes, management of county expenditures and pending bills as some of the challenges facing the devolved units.
“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,” Waiguru stated.
According to the Kirinyaga Governor counties have to adhere to complex procurement processes which sometimes slow down the uptake of development expenditure.
“County Governments recognize 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 4 months to complete a procurement process,” said Waiguru.
She stated that County Governments pay off pending bills before funds are released to Counties for development expenditure, adding that a majority of the pending bills are on development.
Additionally, Waiguru cited that the delay by Parliament to enact the County Governments
Additional Allocations Bill, 2023, has constrained the 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,” she said.
In the report released on Tuesday, Nyakang’o revealed that ten counties including Nairobi, Machakos, Kilifi, Embu, Wajir, Samburu, West Pokot, Turkana, and Kericho did not spend a single shilling on development.
