Spending spree: Counties splash billions on travel, allowances and international meetings

A damning new report has exposed how county governments are funnelling billions of shillings into luxury travel and conferences while development projects lie abandoned and cash-strapped, hospitals plead for funds — a scandal that comes just 14 months before Kenyans head to the polls to judge their devolved leaders.

The County Budget Implementation Review Report by the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, reveals that counties spent Sh13.17 billion on domestic and foreign travel in the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year — money that could have equipped hundreds of health facilities or completed thousands of stalled classroom projects.

Nairobi City County emerged as the worst offender, burning through Sh1.55 billion on travel, including Sh373.61 million on foreign jaunts. County officials jetted off to global luxury hotspots Dubai, Malaysia and the United Kingdom for tours fashioned as legislative benchmarking trips and training meetings — often with little to show for the taxpayer-funded globetrotting.

Kitui County followed closely with Sh523.4 million in travel expenses, while Meru (Sh515 million), West Pokot (Sh504.28 million), and Kiambu (Sh477.5 million) completed the list of top luxury spenders. The report identified the US, the UK, and the Middle East as preferred destinations, with Tanzania, with its luxury hotspot of Zanzibar, topping the list within Africa.

“The highest travel-to-operations ratios were reported by Baringo at 42 per cent, Lamu at 36 per cent, and Homa Bay at 35 per cent,” Nyakang’o revealed in the report.

While county officials enjoyed first-class travel and five-star accommodations, development budgets were left to wither. The report shows counties spent only Sh72 billion on development — a paltry 31 per cent absorption rate of the annual Sh234.33 billion development budget. A staggering 43 counties recorded development absorption below 50 per cent.

The consequences are visible across the country. At least 22 counties reported 237 stalled projects worth Sh13.66 billion, with Sh5.11 billion already paid to contractors for work never completed. Abandoned health centres, incomplete roads and water projects dot the national landscape — monuments to misplaced priorities, Nyakang’o warned.

“Stalled projects delay service delivery, undermine achievement of intended development objectives and expose funds already paid to value-for-money risks,” Nyakang’o said in the report.

The crisis is compounded by a runaway wage bill that is suffocating county finances. The 47 counties spent Sh171.36 billion on employee salaries against revenue of Sh388.37 billion, translating to a wage-to-revenue ratio of 44 per cent — far exceeding the statutory ceiling of 35 per cent. Forty-one counties breached the legal limit.

Homa Bay and Taita Taveta counties were the worst performers, each spending a staggering 63 per cent of their revenue on salaries, while Machakos (58 per cent), Bomet (55 per cent), and Nairobi (54 per cent) followed closely.

The report also exposes systemic vulnerabilities in county payroll systems, with several counties still processing payments manually — a practice that invites ghost workers and fraud. Siaya led with 13.8 per cent of its payroll processed manually, followed by Wajir at 12.7 per cent and Tharaka Nithi at 12.5 per cent.

“The manual payroll remains vulnerable to manipulation and increases the risk of irregular payments and ghost workers,” Nyakang’o said.

The financial recklessness has created a mountain of unpaid bills. Counties reported outstanding trade payables of Sh156.84 billion, with Nairobi alone accounting for Sh81.79 billion. Suppliers and contractors are left waiting for years while county officials continue their spending sprees.

For ordinary Kenyans, the findings of the report come as a shock. Devolution was meant to bring services closer to the people — better roads, equipped hospitals, clean water. Instead, counties the report appears to suggest have become conduits for siphoning public funds through “benchmarking” trips that yield little more than photo opportunities.

The Controller of Budget has warned that counties risk failing to deliver planned projects unless they dramatically accelerate implementation. She recommended that counties improve own-source revenue collection, reduce reliance on facility improvement funds, and prioritise settlement of trade payables.

But with the clock ticking toward the next elections, analysts say the report serves as a report card for governors and members of county assemblies who promised transformation but are delivering extravagance.