CoB Margaret Nyakang'o Exposes Counties That Spent More On Travel At Development's Expense

• Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang'o released the County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the financial year 2023/2024
• Nyakang'o's report showed counties spent KSh 17.6 billion on local and foreign travel that was deemed wasteful
• Counties that reported the highest travel expenditure during the period under review were Turkana, Nairobi and Machakos

TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers profound insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

A report by Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang'o has revealed Kenyan counties that spent more on local and foreign travel at the expense of development.

How much did counties spend on travel?

The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report for the financial year 2023/2024 noted that counties spent KSh 17.6 billion on travel deemed wasteful.

This included KSh 15.28 billion on domestic travel and KSh 2.32 billion on foreign travel.

"During the financial year, the Controller of Budget noted excessive expenditures by county governments on travel, which may be wasteful, amounted to KSh 17.60 billion, comprising KSh 15.28 billion on domestic travel and KSh 2.32 billion on foreign travel," Nyakang'o stated.

Which counties reported the highest travel expenditure?

According to Nyakang'o's report, the following counties reported the highest travel expenditure during the period under review.

1. Turkana - KSh 943.44 million.
2. Nairobi - KSh 861.57 million.
3. Machakos - KSh 652.76 million.
4. West Pokot - KSh 585.2 million.
5. Nakuru -KSh 544.13 million.

Which counties reported the highest foreign travel expenditure?

1. Nairobi - KSh 328.33 million.
2. Machakos -KSh 148.68 million.
3. Kitui - KSh 128.4 million.
4. Kericho - KSh 105.8 million.
5. Nakuru - KSh 102.89 million.

"County governments are advised to minimise travel expenditures by holding activities within the headquarters and allocate the funds to key development programmes," the report recommended.

Which counties spent zero on development?

An earlier report by Nyakang'o showed that county governments’ total expenditure from July 1 to September 1, 2023, amounted to KSh 67.47 billion.

During the period under review, counties spent KSh 60.52 billion (89.7%) on recurrent activities and KSh 6.92 billion (10.3%) on development activities.

Counties that spent zero on development programmes were Nairobi under Johnson Sakaja, Embu (Cecily Mbarire), Homa Bay (Gladys Wanga), Kericho (Eric Mutai), Kilifi (Gideon Mung'aro) and Machakos (Wavinya Ndeti).

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke