The Council of Governors (COG) Chair Anne Waiguru on Wednesday dismissed reports that some counties did not spend any money on development in the first quarter of the current financial year, saying they were misleading and unfair.
Waiguru, who is also the governor of Kirinyaga County, said the Controller of Budget’s (COB) report that was published in the local dailies did not capture the realities and challenges faced by the county governments in implementing their development plans.
She said the counties’ expenditure was guided by the integrated development plans, approved annual budgets and work plans that were unique for each county, and that all expenditures had to be approved by the COB in line with the Constitution.
“Therefore, expecting uniform implementation of these and expenditure thereof is not only impractical but also irregular,” she said in a press statement.
She also cited the lengthy and complex procurement processes, the payment of pending bills, and the delay by the Parliament to enact the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill, 2023, as some of the factors that affected the uptake of development expenditure by the counties.
She said the county governments aligned all the procurement processes to the law, and that it took about four months to complete a procurement process.
“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,” she said.
She added that the county governments, in line with good financial practice and the COB’s advisory, paid off pending bills before funds were released to counties for development expenditure, and that a majority of these pending bills were on development.
She further noted that the delay by the Parliament to enact the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill, 2023, had constrained the disbursement of conditional grants to counties, which funded most of the ongoing development projects.
“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 on going,” she said.
She said the COG was committed to collaboration and consultation between the county governments and the Office of the COB, and assured the public that the COG and the 47 county governments were fully committed to ensuring service delivery to every Kenyan.
