How counties are spending your money
County governments’ budgets for FY 2024/25 amounted to Sh576.73 billion.
1mon agoWILLIAM WANYOIKEInfographics
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has come out to dismiss a report that his administration spent no money on development between July and September.
Sakaja explained that the report by the Controller of Budget fails to note that counties did not receive exchequer releases from the National Treasury during the first two months of the first quarter of the financial year.
“The first disbursement was received on the September 23,” he stated.
Sakaja added that despite the challenges, Nairobi County successfully relied on its own-source revenue to take care of operations and maintenance, as well as salaries and personnel costs.
“In the last five months, the county has spent Sh844,184,930 towards various development projects, including markets, sports facilities, roads, solid waste management, and emergency services. It is important to note that the report is about payments made. Development payments are made at different stages of project implementation once contractors have raised certificates,” he further explained.
The Council of Governors chair Ahmed Abdullahi weighed in on the matter, terming the report as sensational.
“We find contemptuous the report of counties spending zero percent on development,” he said.
He also noted that counties received zero exchequer releases from the National Treasury during the quarter.
“Any development done during that quarter was funded from last Financial Year’s arrears while most counties were forced to go for short- term loans from commercial banks to pay salaries and sustain service delivery,” he said.
He added that the first disbursement for quarter one was received during the last month of that quarter. “
“However, no county was able to access the money by the end of the quarter, that is, September 30, 2024,” he stated.
He added that the July allocation was released on September 24, 2024 (85-day delay), while the August allocation was released on October 17, 2024 (78-day delay).
He added that the September allocation was released on November 14 2024 (75-day delay) and the October allocation on November 18, 2024 (49-day delay).
