NAIROBI, Kenya — A majority of counties risk grinding to a halt after failing to meet the legal deadline for submitting their 2025/2026 budgets, the Controller of Budget (COB) has warned.
In a scathing statement issued Thursday, COB Margaret Nyakang’o revealed that only Nairobi and Kisii counties had complied with the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act and are cleared to receive funds from the Exchequer.
Thirteen other counties—including Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Kakamega, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, West Pokot, Vihiga, Samburu, Kajiado, Laikipia, and Lamu—remain under review and have not been granted access to Treasury funds.
The rest of the counties have yet to submit their approved budgets altogether.
“These delays are unlawful. The law is clear: counties must submit their budgets by June 30. Any assembly that has not passed a budget by that date is in breach,” Dr. Nyakang’o said.
The Controller pointed to internal wrangles and political gamesmanship as major causes of the impasse.
In particular, she accused some Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) of deliberately stalling or altering budget proposals to exert pressure on governors.
“In some cases, assemblies engage in what can only be described as political blackmail—deliberately delaying, rewriting, or rejecting proposals to extract concessions, assert power, or settle scores,” she said.
The consequences are dire. Without COB approval, county governments cannot pay salaries, disburse development funds, or honour debts to contractors—essentially paralysing operations.
Meanwhile, the national government appears to be on stronger fiscal footing.
The Interior Ministry has already secured Sh32.6 billion for the current year, a notable improvement after past run-ins with the budget watchdog over overspending.
The National Police Service has been allocated Sh125 billion, while the entire executive arm has received Sh2.42 trillion.
Nyakang’o confirmed that all national-level approvals were finalised within the first month of the new financial year—an achievement that further exposes the dysfunction at the devolved level.
County bosses, for their part, are blaming the National Treasury for the hold-ups. But the COB insists the real issue lies in their failure to meet statutory deadlines.
“Poor coordination, not Treasury delays, is at the heart of this problem. Governors and assemblies must get their houses in order,” she said.
With the standoff threatening service delivery across the country, pressure is mounting on county governments to act swiftly—or face a fiscal crisis of their own making.
