Despite devolution marking a decade, more than three quarter of the counties are still struggling to attain their own-source revenue (OSR) targets.
Only 10 of the 47 counties surpassed their targets in the financial year ended June 2024, revealing the under-performance of the devolved units in revenue collection.
Recent data by Office of the Controller of Budget (OCOB) reveals that 10 counties namely Turkana, Vihiga, Kirinyaga, Lamu, Nandi, Wajir, Garissa, Nyeri, Samburu and Murang’a met their targets with Turkana scoring 241 percent relative to its target. Cumulatively, the counties’ revenue hit Sh58.95 billion, which was 70.9 percent of the annual target of Sh80.94 billion.
The OSR collection is an improvement, accounting for Sh21.14 billion increase from the Sh37.81 billion in the last financial year.
However, 37 counties missing revenue targets is a clear indicator that the national government will remain as a primary financier for most devolved units, providing funding to enable them meet their spending needs.
Notably, an analysis of OSR as a proportion of the annual revenue indicated that 12 counties recorded performance below 70 percent.
According to the data, Nyandarua County which collected Sh516 million last year, was the worst performer, only slightly managing over a quarter of its target, followed by Machakos which managed 46.5 percent performance of the Sh3.3 billion targets.
Wajir County posted the biggest rise compared to the previous year as its revenue increased more than three times to Sh164.95 million.
For the counties with below 70 percent, the OCOB advises: “Develop revenue enhancement strategies and set realistic and achievable targets in the next financial year to avoid accumulating pending bills in the coming financial year.”
Nairobi, accounting for a quarter of Kenya’s Gross Domestic product, saw its revenues grow to Sh12.54 billion from last year’s Sh10.24 billion.
Massive theft of public funds amidst tough economic times has necessitated increased scrutiny on how counties spend their monies.
A review of expenditure by the Controller of Budget reveals that expenditure on development in the financial year ended June 2024, stood at Sh109.2 billion, representing less than a quarter of the total expenditure.
