Members of county assembly spent Sh1.08 billion on allowances in the past nine months to May 2025, with Vihiga, Baringo, Homabay and Makueni emerging as the highest earners.
This even as the disparity in payment of allowances continues to lay bare the privilege that some counties are enjoying, earning up to 10 times what their peers are pocketing.
Among the counties earning high sitting allowances, manual payrolls—comprised of salaries—continue to dominate.
In the nine months to May 2025, a member of the county assembly in Vihiga County earned Sh92,352 every month, the highest of any allowances earned by MCAs in the country.
This was more than ten times what Busia County, which emerged as the county where MCAs earned the least amount of allowances, only pocketing Sh9,955,
The new revelation by the office of the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, shows that, despite the push to cut expenditure, the devolved units are still reaping big, some earning allowances almost at two-thirds of their salaries.
This totaled to Sh1.08 billion on sitting allowances against an approved budget allocation of Sh1.96 billion during the reporting period.
“This expenditure translates to 55 per cent of the approved MCA sitting allowance budget, an increase from 54 per cent in the first nine months of FY 2023/24,” said Nyakang’o.
Homabay MCAs pocketed Sh764,802 in allowances in the nine months, averaging Sh84,978 per month.
In Baringo planned budget for allowances was Sh50.8 million for 45 members of county assembly with each pocketing an average of Sh84,910
Among the lowest was Mandera where the monthly average for members of County Assembly totaled to an average of Sh15,549
Nairobi members of county assembly on the other hand were among the least earners pocketing Sh24,494 per month
