25 county governments have budgets with massive deficits

Mombasa County Assembly in session. The county has the biggest budget deficit in Coast region. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By Jackson Okoth  and Jevans Nyabiage

More than half of the counties are operating beyond their means.

Twenty-five out of 47 counties have huge deficits with Mombasa, Vihiga and Nyamira most affected.

Vihiga County ranks top with the biggest budget deficit of 91 per cent in a list released yesterday by Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA).

While the Treasury has allocated it Sh3.01 billion for the 2013/2014 financial year, it can only generate Sh200 million. The county intends to spend Sh6.2 billion, leaving it with a deficit of Sh 2.9 billion.

Mombasa County is ranked second with a deficit of Sh 9.6 billion. The county has a total budget of Sh21.8 billion against a revenue base of Sh12.2 billion.

Nyamira County’s total revenue stands at Sh3.4 billion against budget expenditure of Sh5.9 billion.

Kisumu County has a budget deficit of Sh2.2 billion, Nakuru Sh1.97 billion, Meru Sh1.97 billion, Siaya Sh1.79 billion, Migori Sh1.76 billion, Laikipia Sh1.3 billion, Nandi Sh1.2 billion and Makueni Sh1 billion.

Wajir has a deficit of Sh918 million, Kilifi Sh893 million, Nyandarua Sh714 million, Machakos Sh672 million and Mandera Sh572 million.

Kisii County has the largest budget of Sh30.3 billion while it has been allocated a paltry Sh5.1 billion.

It anticipates generating a massive Sh24.5 billion, a figure higher than what Nairobi County — the richest, which is expected to earn Sh15.8 billion from internal sources. This raises questions on its ability to raise this amount of revenue.

According to the report, 69 per cent of the revenues will come from national government transfers with 31 per cent being generated from internal revenue sources.

CRA Chairman Micah Cheserem said he would be asking all affected counties to trim their budgets or prove sources of their financing.

He also said he will be liaising with counties with surplus budgets to explain their sources of external funding factored into the budget. Other counties saddled with massive budget constraints are Kitui, Homa Bay, Bomet, Baringo, Trans Nzoia, Lamu and Marsabit. The CRA County Budget Highlights puts seven counties at the top of those running on a surplus.

Kwale County, home to the county’s nascent mining industry, has a surplus of Sh596 million. It has been allocated Sh3.7 billion and budgets to spend Sh 4.1 billion.

Sources Of Funds

The county, which is yet to start earning from the vast mineral deposits, anticipates collecting Sh936 million this financial year.

Other counties with surplus cash to spend are Busia Sh522 million, Tana River Sh233 million, Tharaka Nithi Sh143 million, Samburu Sh163 million, Turkana Sh301 million and West Pokot Sh22 million.

Interestingly, West Pokot County does not have any other sources of revenue apart from the monies allocated from the Central Government.

CRA lists 15 counties with balanced budgets. These include Nairobi, which has been allocated Sh 9.5 billion, the highest figure and expects to collect Sh15.8 billion. Its total budget expenditure is 25.2 billion.

The highly indebted Nairobi County has in the past few months been cleaning its books and getting rid of ghost workers from its bulging payroll.

While it is not clear the state of indebtedness at the Nairobi County, available figures paint a grim picture. For instance, in the 2011/12 financial year, the Treasury used Sh1.40 billion to pay debts of state institutions, among them the Nairobi City Council. At the top of counties with the highest recurrent expenditure, mainly salaries, is Nairobi with Sh14.9 billion followed by Mombasa at Sh10.6 billion.