Controller of Budget says MCAs hindering fight against corruption in counties

A section of Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), who ideally should exercise oversight in the devolved units, are hindering the fight against corruption.

This is according to Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o, who says some devolved units reported expenditures exceeding 100 per cent, with 38 of them failing to meet the legal development expenditure threshold in the financial year 2023/2024.

Speaking during the 5th National County Assemblies Summit in Nairobi, Nyakang’o attributes the setback in the fight against corruption to the MCAs' relationship with Governors.

“Some MCAs align themselves with Governors, thereby compromising the fight against corruption,” she said.

While issuing her presentation on the role of county governments in budget oversight during the Summit, the CoB raised a red flag over rampant corruption in the devolved units.

“Rampant corruption in county governments is being orchestrated through misappropriation of funds, ghost projects, and inflated contracts,” she said.

Failure by county administrators to streamline budget controls has led to some counties controversially reporting expenditures exceeding 100%.

“This is abnormal and only tells you how the graft is being propagated,” she noted.

Failure by devolved units to comply with the 30 per cent minimum development expenditure requirement has led to 38 counties failing to meet the legal threshold, with only nine complying.

MCAs have been asked to complete beneficial projects pioneered by their predecessors as a way of tackling Ksh.180 billion in pending bills as of December 2024.

“Are we really serious when we increase the number of stalled projects?” Nyakang’o stated.

Addressing the representatives, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) faulted the Senate for failing to consult it before passing the Ksh.400 billion Division of Revenue Bill 2024, calling for a Ksh.30 billion increment for devolved units through the revenue-sharing model.

“The Senate did not consult us in passing the Revenue Allocation Bill. We recommend a Ksh.30 billion increment allocation to counties,” CRA Commissioner Fatuma Gedi.

County Assemblies Forum Secretary General Chege Mwaura added, “We will take up this oversight task in ensuring good governance in the devolved units.”