The introduction of the new e-procurement system seems to have contributed to a slowdown in activities in the various county governments, with most of them failing to spend any amount in the first quarter of the financial year on development expenditures.
As indicated in the report by the Controller of Budget regarding the first quarter’s project implementation, it was indicated that counties had only absorbed two per cent of their development budgets; hence there could be a possibility of projects being stalled and services being delayed at the grassroots levels.
The data indicates that there is only a shortlist of counties that recorded high absorption rates of the overall budget. The top three are from Isiolo, which recorded 21% followed by Kitui with 18%, and then Machakos, Nyeri, and Uasin Gishu at 14%.
However, the lowest on the list were Turkana and Laikipia, which recorded a general rate of absorption of five per cent each. Tana River, Nyandarua, and Kericho followed closely with a rate of four per cent.
Some of the counties registered zero spending on development despite billions of shillings from the national government and local sources.
In Baringo County, the amount of money that was received was Ksh.1.64 billion. However, the amount allocated was Ksh.649.94 million for payments of salaries and operations, and Ksh.7.2 million for Members of the County Assembly sitting allowance payments. On the other hand, no amount was allocated towards development projects.
On its part, West Pokot County also did not spend any amount on development, having received Ksh. 1.4 billion during the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. This is also a repeat of what happened during the last financial year. The county exective has spent Ksh. 750.16 million on payments for salaries, as well as Ksh. 95.93 million by the county assembly on salaries.
Vihiga County, which got an equitable share/own-source revenue of approximately Ksh.1 billion, also posted zero spending on development. Quite a high amount was, however, incurred on travel, with domestic travel amounting to Ksh.45.70 million, of which Ksh.33.85 million was incurred by the County Assembly while Ksh.11.85 million was incurred by the County Executive. Foreign travel contributed a cumulative of Ksh.10.17 million to this amount.
The Turkana County had received Ksh.3.8 billion funding from the national and other sources within the period. In this case, Ksh.973.77 million had been spent on wages, without any being directed towards development schemes.
Relating to revenue collection, Samburu, Garissa, and Narok counties showed the highest performance in terms of local revenue collected as a proportion of annual targets at 40 percent, 36 percent, and 35 percent respectively. The counties that underperformed were Kwale at nine percent, Nandi at seven percent, and Siaya at six percent.
A total of 22.8 percent growth in revenue was, however, noted in Kisii County, though an amount of just Ksh.13.67 million was invested in development programs.
The amount that Trans Nzoia County realized in the first quarter was Ksh.1.90 billion, with Ksh.575 million of that amount dedicated to payment of salaries. The county spent zero amounts on travel.
Taking into consideration the slow expenditure and delayed transfers of funds, the Controller of Budget has urged Parliament to expedite the enactment of the County Governments Allocation Act in order to avert the disruption of development projects and enable the timely transfer of funds from the national government to the county governments.
