In 21 counties, employees have not received pay for up to two months due to delays in approving 2026/27 budgets, which are required for access to the Integrated Financial Management Information System. According to Margaret Nyakang’o, Controller of Budget, only 32 of 41 submitted budgets from 47 counties have been approved at the 30th Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council session.
Seven counties are yet to submit their budgets, and five received comment letters they have not answered. Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Marsabit, Kilifi, and Embu have paid June and July salaries, but the rest have not, forcing some employees to borrow money.
Several counties had relied on commercial bank facilities to cover salaries, but these arrangements are collapsing as banks withdraw over unpaid balances or shift accounts to rival lenders.
In Siaya, a standoff between the executive and county assembly over Finance CEC nominee George Nying’iro delayed the July payroll. Governor James Orengo’s administration blamed the hold-up on unresolved budget disputes.
In Kisii, County Secretary Ernest Osoro cited delays in approving and uploading the budget. The National Treasury confirmed it has disbursed all equitable shares due to counties by the financial year-end, including July and August allocations.
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Council of Governors chairperson Ahmed Abdullah argued that counties facing budget stalemates should still access funds for essential obligations, such as salaries, even before full budget clearance.
The recurring nature of this crisis suggests a structural issue rather than a one-time administrative error. IFMIS access is correctly tied to budget compliance as a public finance safeguard.
The law mandates Controller of Budget approval before counties can access funds, preventing unauthorized spending. However, the current system creates a binary outcome: full compliance unlocks all funds, including salaries, while any unresolved dispute freezes workers’ pay entirely. This is disproportionate.
A practical solution lies in Abdullah’s proposal: ring-fence statutory and payroll obligations for partial release, even if a county’s broader budget remains unresolved.
Without this reform, the same issue will likely resurface in 2027, and workers with little influence over county-level budget politics will continue to bear the brunt.
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