NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 16 — Murang’a Governor Dr Irungu Kang’ata has defended county social interventions that are classified as recurrent expenditure by the Controller of Budget (CoB), cautioning against judging county performance solely on development spending figures.
Responding to the latest CoB report on county budget absorption for the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, Governor Kang’ata said development expenditure statistics do not always capture the full range of impactful public spending at the county level.
“Counties with low development expenditure should not be vilified without examining all the facts. Some expenditures are extremely important to citizens but, under Public Sector Accounting Standards and the Controller of Budget framework, they are classified as recurrent rather than development,” Kang’ata said.
He cited bursaries, hospital drugs, Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) feeding programmes and other social interventions that directly improve livelihoods but remain excluded from development expenditure tallies despite their significant social and economic impact.
The CoB report ranks Isiolo and Murang’a among counties with relatively strong development spending in the opening quarter of the financial year, a period when many devolved units traditionally struggle with project execution.
According to the report, Isiolo led nationally after allocating 26.6 per cent of its total expenditure to development projects during the quarter.
Nyandarua followed at 23.0 per cent, ahead of Kirinyaga (21.9 per cent), Taita Taveta (18.8 per cent), Nyamira (18.1 per cent), Elgeyo-Marakwet (17.8 per cent) and Murang’a (16.6 per cent).
19 counties post zero development spending
The CoB noted that counties posting higher development absorption early in the year often benefit from effective planning, timely procurement and disciplined financial management, with early project execution linked to better value for money and fewer pending bills.
In contrast, 19 counties recorded zero development expenditure in the same period, including Baringo, Bomet, Kilifi, Kisumu, Wajir and West Pokot—highlighting persistent challenges in planning, procurement and early-year rollout of capital programmes.
Governor Kang’ata said Murang’a continues to invest in long-term growth through initiatives such as market tarmacking under its smart city agenda, youth empowerment programmes, and the distribution of certified maize seeds and fertiliser to farmers.
He explained that some of these interventions are implemented through government-to-government arrangements that do not require conventional procurement processes and may therefore take longer to be reflected in development expenditure reports.
The governor also pointed to initial operational challenges in the rollout of the national e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system, saying these had slowed development procurement across several counties.
“The e-GP system is important for transparency, but its early implementation phase has delayed procurement and, consequently, development spending in many counties,” he said.
