The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has criticized county governors for fiscal mismanagement, making it difficult for the Senate to advocate for increased devolved funding.
During a session led by Vice Chairperson Senator Tabitha Mutinda, the Members of the Committee shifted their focus from the 2026/2027 revenue sharing formula to address systemic financial irregularities at the county level.
Senator Mutinda reported that this mismanagement has severely weakened the Senate’s bargaining power, citing the dire state of healthcare and instances of unpaid suppliers.
Specifically, the legislator pointed to a firm in Machakos, belonging to supplier Mr. Sammy Kioko, which was left in significant debt after providing security uniforms that the county government refused to pay for.
Further highlighting the abuse of office, Senators discussed allegations where a governor withdrew Kshs1.6 billion from the County Revenue Fund (CRF) to establish a private company.
They emphasized that strict accountability is required to restore faith in devolution and ensure that public resources are used for their intended purposes.
Beyond the immediate critique of county governance, the committee addressed broader technical and systemic inequities.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka pointed to a sharp decline in the county revenue share, which dropped from 20.2% in the 2021/2022 financial year to 14.5% in 2026/2027.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale criticized the “illegality” of mid-year executive budget expansions, noting that the State House supplementary budget allegedly increased from Kshs 3 billion to 7 billion while counties faced budget cuts.
He further challenged the technical foundation of the 454.7 billion total county allocation.
He questioned an additional Kshs5 billion revenue growth adjustment that he claimed lacked a clear methodology and advocated for constitutional amendments to prevent the National Treasury from maintaining unilateral control over these figures.
To protect essential services, Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki demanded that the Kshs8.9 billion for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) payroll support be strictly ring-fenced to prevent diversion.
The Finance Committee resolved to summon the Council of Governors (CoG’s) leadership to deliberate on this fiscal indiscipline, emphasizing that strict accountability is required to restore faith in devolution.
By Anthony Solly
