How counties missed local revenue targets as others exceeded

How counties missed local revenue targets as others exceeded CaptionController of Budget Dr Margaret Nyakang'o before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee over the 2025 Budget Policy Statement at County Hall, Nairobi, on March 11, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] The 47 county governments collected Sh67.30 billion in revenue in the last financial year. This was 77 per cent of their annual local revenue target of Sh87.67 billion, according to the 2024/2025 County Budget Implementation Review Report - a 62.6 per cent increase compared to Sh41.40 billion realised in 2023/2024. The Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang'o, said several counties had exceeded their annual targets, with Kisii at 178 per cent, Tana River at 133 per cent, Mandera and Wajir at 123 per cent, Kirinyaga at 122 per cent, and Garissa at 120 per cent. Others that collected more than expected were Vihiga (117 per cent), Samburu (110 per cent), Meru (106 per cent), Elgeyo Marakwet (104 per cent), and Homa Bay (101 per cent). "Several factors contributed to counties exceeding their revenue targets. These include under-budgeting, a complete lack of budgeting for the Facility Improvement Fund, revamped revenue streams, and the increased automation of revenue collection processes," said Dr Nyakang'o. Counties that recorded less than 70 per cent performance include Nairobi City at 66 per cent; Kakamega, Kisumu, and Bungoma each at 65 per cent; Taita Taveta at 64 per cent; Isiolo at 58 per cent; Machakos at 56 per cent; Kajiado at 55 per cent; and Siaya at 47 per cent. The report further shows that during the financial year, the county assemblies approved a combined budget of Sh601.69 billion, out of which Sh218.99 billion was allocated to development and Sh382.70 billion to recurrent expenditure. This, Dr Nyakang'o noted, conformed to Section 107(2)(b) of the Public Finance Management Act, which stipulates that at least 30 per cent of the budget is allocated to development expenditure. "To fund the financial year 2024/25 budgets, the county governments expected to receive Sh387.43 billion as the equitable share of revenue raised nationally, and Sh30.83 billion in arrears of the equitable share of revenue raised nationally for June 2024," says the report. The Controller of Budget said the counties expected to receive Sh70.84 billion as county additional allocations from the National Government and development partners. She revealed that the actual total funds available amounted to Sh533.11 billion, which included Sh387.43 billion as the equitable share of revenue raised nationally.

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