MCAs pocket hefty perks in Ksh.1 billion sitting allowance bonanza

The latest report by the Controller of Budget on County Governments Budget Implementation shows the average pay for a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) sitting allowance in the County Assembly of Embu stands at Ksh.134,577.

This is against the set limit of Ksh.124,800 by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. In the first nine months of the 2025/2026 budget cycle running from July 2025 to March 2026, the Embu County Assembly spent Ksh.37.5 million on sitting allowances for 31 MCAs.

This represents an absorption of 62 per cent from a budgetary allocation of Ksh.60.8 million.

Just like their counterparts in the National Assembly, legislators in a County Assembly are paid an allowance for attending committee meetings.

The report by Dr Margaret Nyakang’o shows that County Assemblies spent Ksh.1.12 billion on MCAs’ sitting allowances against an approved budget of Ksh.2.02 billion during the nine-month period.

This reflects an absorption rate of 55%. Expenditure performance varied significantly across counties, with Nandi, Bomet, Bungoma, Isiolo and Wajir registering high utilisation levels. At the same time, Migori, Trans Nzoia, Mandera and Turkana recorded minimal absorption.

During the reporting period, the review report shows that the average monthly sitting allowance per MCA was Ksh. 83,652.

There are 2,228 MCAs across the 47 County Assemblies, of which 1,450 are elected and the rest nominated.

County Assemblies with the highest pay per member include: Tana River with an average monthly pay of Ksh.102,896, Bomet (Ksh.96,970, Tharaka Nithi (Ksh.83,200), and Marsabit, with an average monthly sitting allowance of Ksh.82,748.

County Assemblies that recorded the lowest average monthly sitting allowance per member include Mandera (Ksh.16,202), Kitui (Ksh.24,128), Turkana (Ksh.24,208), Migori (Ksh.24,529) and Nairobi (Ksh.26,927).

County Assemblies with the highest budgetary allocation for members’ sitting allowance include Kakamega with an allocation of Ksh.128 million, Garissa (Ksh.78M), Kiambu (Ksh.75M), Meru (Ksh.71M), and Nairobi with an allocation of Ksh.70 million.

The Nairobi City County Assembly has the highest number of members in the country, standing at 125.

County Assemblies with the lowest budgetary allocation for members’ sitting allowance include Lamu (Ksh.15.7M), Isiolo (Ksh.13.5M), Nyeri (Ksh.18M), Laikipia (Ksh.20.9M), and Kitui, which has 61 MCAs with a budgetary allocation of 24 million.

In some counties, sitting allowance for assembly members seems to compete with their basic salary.

A regular MCA earns a monthly basic salary of Ksh.98,753. Under the official guidelines of Kenya's Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), allowances should not exceed the basic salary.

At the same time, Local and foreign travel expenditure in the counties during the nine-month period amounted to Ksh.13.17 billion.

Counties also spent a total of Ksh.171 billion on compensation to employees against reported revenue of Ksh.388.37 billion.

This translated to a wage-to-revenue ratio of 44 per cent, exceeding the statutory ceiling of 35 per cent.

The Controller of Budget noted that personnel costs continue to exert significant pressure on counties' fiscal space, thereby hampering development and denying citizens critical services.

Forty-one counties exceeded the statutory ceiling during the review period, with only five counties adhering to the prescribed ceiling.

They include Tana River at 27 per cent, Kwale and Nakuru at 30 per cent each, Uasin Gishu at 31 per cent, and Kirinyaga at 32 per cent.

As of March 31, 2026, County Governments reported pending bills totalling Ksh.156.84 billion.

County Executives had trade payables standing at Ksh.151.49 billion, while the Assemblies’ outstanding trade payables amounted to Ksh.5.35 billion.