A total of 21 counties are experiencing salary payment delays of up to two months due to the delayed approval of their 2026/27 budgets, which has restricted their access to the Integrated Financial Management Information System. During the 30th Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council session, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o revealed that out of 47 counties, only 32 submitted budgets have been approved, while seven counties have yet to submit theirs, and five have received comment letters that remain unanswered. Counties such as Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Marsabit, Kilifi, and Embu have managed to pay their employees’ June and July salaries, but the remaining counties have not, forcing some workers to rely on borrowing.
Commercial banks withdraw from county salary agreements
Some counties had relied on commercial bank facilities to pay salaries, but these arrangements are now falling apart as banks withdraw due to unpaid balances or transfer accounts to competing lenders. The situation in Siaya exemplifies the political implications: a dispute between the executive and county assembly over the Finance CEC nominee George Nying’iro led to a delay in the July payroll, with Governor James Orengo’s administration blaming the hold-up on unresolved budget disputes. The National Treasury claims to have disbursed all the equitable share due to counties by the end of the financial year, including the July and August allocations.
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In Kisii, County Secretary Ernest Osoro cited budget approval and upload delays as the reason for the payment delays. Council of Governors chairperson Ahmed Abdullah argued that counties facing budget stalemates should still have access to allocations for essential obligations, such as salaries, even before their budgets are fully approved.
A possible solution lies in Abdullah’s proposal to ring-fence statutory and payroll obligations, allowing for partial release of funds even when a county’s broader budget remains unresolved, while maintaining the IFMIS freeze as leverage over discretionary spending. Without this reform, the same issues will likely recur in 2027. The Siaya case also highlights a governance risk within devolution’s checks and balances, where an assembly can use its budget approval and appointment powers to pressure an executive, with county workers bearing the cost of the standoff, a separation-of-powers problem that the County Governments Act does not adequately address.
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