NAIROBI, Kenya – Counties across Kenya are under renewed scrutiny after fresh audit reports revealed that billions of shillings have been lost through illegal, irregular and poorly supervised procurement practices, raising serious questions about accountability in devolved governments.
The findings, contained in the latest review by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, show that county officials routinely flouted procurement laws meant to safeguard public funds, leading to shoddy projects, inflated costs and contracts awarded to unqualified firms.
According to the audit, competitive tendering was frequently bypassed, documentation ignored and due diligence either weak or completely absent—creating fertile ground for corruption and waste.
Unqualified contractors, expired bonds
In Baringo County, auditors found that major contracts were awarded to contractors without valid tax compliance certificates and with expired performance bonds, a clear violation of procurement regulations.
The county also directly procured a Sh435.6 million contractor for the construction of an aggregation and industrial park, prompting concerns over whether legal and competitive standards were observed.
Bomet County came under fire over its handling of legal services after the county attorney directly selected 32 private law firms without competitive tendering.
“The outsourced legal services were not competitively procured since they were directly procured by the county attorney through issuance of instructions,” the Auditor General noted, warning that value for money could not be guaranteed.
Projects fail value-for-money test
Several counties were cited for projects that failed basic value-for-money assessments.
In Busia, rice worth Sh21.46 million was purchased without proper procurement documentation, making it impossible to verify legality or pricing.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, a one-bedroom staff house constructed at Teror Health Centre at a cost of Sh2.49 million was flagged as excessively expensive.
“There was no value for money on the one-bedroomed staff house constructed at Teror Health Centre,” Gathungu said.
Vihiga County was also cited after an ECDE classroom built at a cost of Sh1.77 million developed cracks within six months, rendering it unsafe for learners.
Restricted tendering misused
In Garissa County, auditors questioned the award of Sh19.99 million for a seven-kilometre water pipeline through restricted tendering, despite the project not qualifying as specialised work under the law.
The county also paid Sh43.14 million to a contractor whose performance bond had already expired for the construction of the Bour-Algi Giraffe Sanctuary.
Kericho County breached procurement and public finance laws by spending Sh230.57 million on unplanned road projects and Sh7.97 million on unbudgeted empowerment materials.
Meanwhile, Kiambu County awarded Sh29.01 million for the construction of seven ECDE centres to a firm whose financial capacity was never verified.
“The successful bidder did not provide evidence of financial capability but was recommended based on being the lowest evaluated bidder,” the audit report stated.
Systemic governance gaps
The audit further exposed widespread misuse of procurement methods. Lamu County procured fuel, oil and lubricants worth Sh67.56 million using a method legally reserved for purchases below Sh3 million.
In Laikipia, Sh1.45 million was awarded to an unqualified supplier, while eight law firms were directly paid Sh24.93 million without justification for urgency.
Samburu County paid Sh578.55 million to 65 contractors, with nearly 70 per cent of the funds going to just 22 firms, raising red flags over fairness and concentration of payments.
Auditors also flagged Sh2.07 million paid to an unlicensed insurance agency, underscoring persistent governance failures.
Call for accountability
Overall, the Auditor General concluded that fairness, transparency and compliance with procurement laws could not be confirmed in many counties, painting a grim picture of weak oversight and unchecked misuse of public resources.
The findings are expected to fuel renewed calls for investigations by oversight agencies, , as senators and the public demand accountability for the loss of billions meant for development.
