Babu Owino Questions Johnson Sakaja's KSh 176m Expenditure On Domestic Travel: "Parties, Events"

• Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja has been on the spot after the Controller of Budget report showed that Nairobi county spent no penny on development in the ending quarter
• The county also spent KSh 176 million on domestic travel and over KSh 10 million on foreign travel
• Embakasi East MP Babu Owino said that the COB report had vindicated his criticism of Sakaja

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino says his continued criticism against Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja's leadership has been vindicated by the Controller of Budget (COB.)

Babu Owino, Johnson Sakaja rivalry

Owino, whose real name is Paul Ongili, has hardly had good words for Sakaja, and the recent report by the COB has not helped the situation for the first-time Nairobi governor.

According to the COB report, Nairobi was among 10 counties that did not spend a penny on development in the first quarter of the current financial year.

The report showed that Sakaja's administration had spent KSh 176.8 million on domestic travel in the first quota of the current financial year.

Nairobi county also spent KSh 11.9 million on foreign travel, KSh 51.8 million on fuel, and KSh 28 million on hospitality.

Babu Owino on Nairobi county's performance

"Some people are wondering why I am so critical of Governor Sakaja’s administration of late. The answer is simple and can be found in the Controller of Budget’s latest report on spending in Nairobi in his first year.

"While other governors are working hard to set aside money to fund development in their counties, Sakaja is spending all your hard-earned taxes on recurrent luxuries. If he’s not in Paris posing for pictures at the Eiffel Tower, he’s in Dubai making deposits," Owino said.

The MP observed that if the report were anything to go by, Sakaja would not have anything tangible to show when his term ends.

Owino said the projects that had been implemented in Nairobi in the recent past were initiated by the former administration.

Johnson Sakaja top projects

"Sakaja’s best ideas are about parties, events, and vibes; nothing directly touches people’s lives. While Nairobi is choking under the burden of garbage, there is widespread theft from public coffers, and cartels are terrorising legitimate businesses. The quality of life is now much worse than before," the legislator said.

He was stunned that a governor domiciled in Nairobi, the heart of the country, could spend over KSh 170 million on domestic travel.

"How can a governor spend 176.8 million on domestic travel? Kwani kuzunguka Nairobi ni this expensive? (You mean moving around Nairobi is this expensive?" Posed Owino.

The COB report explained that Nairobi and nine other counties diverted all the money they received to paying salaries, allowances, and operations.

Narok county leads on development expenditure

Narok governor Patrick Ntutu was the best performer in utilising public funds for development. Ntutu spent 30% of the county allocation on development. Narok sunk KSh 1.3 billion on development.

According to the COB, counties spent KSh 60.3 billion on recurrent expenditure and KSh 6.9 billion on development.

This means that all the counties only spent 3.7% of their total allocation on development.

Embu, Homa Bay, Kericho, Machakos, Turkana, Wajir, West Pokot, Kilifi, and Samburu are other counties that spent nothing on development.

Governor Hillary Barchok's Bomet county ranked top among counties that spent on development, having utilised 17% of its allocation on development.

Nyeri County Tops Revenue Collection list

Vihiga county spent 10.4%, Uasin Gishu 13.8%, and Garissa 10.1% on development.

All 47 counties had a target to collect revenue amounting to KSh 78.6 billion but only managed to raise KSh 10.6 billion, representing 13% of the set targets. The miss was blamed on revenue leakages and failure to bank funds as provided for in the law.

The top-performing counties in revenue collection were Mutahi Kahiga's Nyeri (42.2%), Narok (36.5%), and Abdi Guyo's Isiolo (36.3%).