Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has assured county government employees that they will receive their June salaries on time despite concerns over delays in Exchequer releases to devolved units.
Speaking before the Senate Plenary on Wednesday, Mbadi said county governments remain a priority in Treasury allocations and dismissed fears that delayed disbursements would affect salary payments before the end of the month.
“Counties do not wait for the Exchequer to initiate transactions, and also the salary for June will be paid immediately they get the Exchequer. We usually give counties priority, and therefore, there is no deliberate effort to starve counties of funds,” Mbadi told senators.
His remarks came after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna questioned the continued delays in disbursing funds to counties, despite previous assurances made by the National Treasury during Public Accounts Committee meetings.
Mbadi acknowledged that the government is experiencing cash flow constraints but maintained that the situation would not prevent counties from meeting their salary obligations.
“On financial accountability and Exchequer releases coming late, it should be understood that these releases can only happen when we have resources to fund the budget, which is primarily done through borrowing and taxes,” he said.
The CS explained that delays in securing external financing, including a major World Bank facility, have affected Treasury operations.
“Sometimes borrowing takes time. For instance, this year we had requested funding through the DPO from the World Bank. However, this will come some two weeks before the end of the financial year,” he added.
The National Treasury expects to receive KSh96.9 billion from the World Bank under the Development Policy Operations (DPO) programme before June 30.
The funds were delayed as Kenya worked to meet a number of policy and governance reforms required by the lender before the financing could be approved.
Among the conditions were regulations on identifying beneficiaries under social protection programmes, the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds, and measures aimed at supporting the country’s forest cover targets.
According to reports, the World Bank is now satisfied that Kenya has made sufficient progress in implementing the agreed reforms, paving the way for the release of the funds before the end of the current financial year.
The expected disbursement is anticipated to ease pressure on the National Treasury, support county allocations, and provide additional resources for salaries and other government expenditures as the country prepares to begin the 2026/27 financial year.