CoB Margaret Nyakang’o warns counties overspending on salaries, stalling service delivery

County governments are struggling under an expanding wage bill that is eating into funds meant for local development, raising serious questions about the sustainability of devolution.

According to the latest report from Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, counties paid Sh220.64 billion in salaries and allowances in the year ending June 30, 2025, an increase of Sh10.8 billion compared to the previous year.

The surge in payroll spending has turned counties into oversized employment hubs, diverting resources from essential projects such as roads, hospitals, and water supply initiatives.

The report shows that personnel costs accounted for 47 per cent of total county expenditure of Sh470.23 billion and 41 per cent of actual revenue of Sh533.11 billion, far exceeding the 35 per cent ceiling set by law.

In several counties, wages swallow more than half of all income, leaving minimal funding for service delivery and development.

Only eight counties met the legal limit on personnel spending, including Kilifi (24 per cent), Siaya (26 per cent), Tana River (27 per cent), and Nakuru (30 per cent).

Counties at the top of the overspending list include Nyeri (55 per cent), Machakos (54.5 per cent), Baringo (53.4 per cent), Tharaka Nithi (53 per cent), and Taita Taveta (51 per cent).

Other high-spending counties are Nairobi (50.8 per cent), Homa Bay and Lamu (50 per cent), Murang’a (48 per cent), Kisumu (48 per cent), Bomet (48.6 per cent), Mombasa (47 per cent), Vihiga (47 per cent), Marsabit (43 per cent), Nyamira (44 per cent), Busia (44 per cent), West Pokot (44 per cent), Kisii (45 per cent), Kakamega (44 per cent), Kajiado (43 per cent), Embu (43 per cent), Garissa (43 per cent), and Kiambu (42 per cent).

The growth in payroll spending has squeezed development budgets. Counties spent only Sh123.76 billion on development, representing just 26 per cent of total expenditure. Twenty-three counties failed to meet the minimum legal requirement of allocating 30 per cent of funds to development.

Nairobi spent the least, just 12 per cent on development, followed by Machakos (16 per cent), Kisumu (17 per cent), and Kiambu and Kajiado (18 per cent).

Nyakang’o noted that most counties have ignored the resolutions of the 2024 National Wage Bill Conference, which required state entities to reduce payroll spending.

“The National Wage Bill Conference resolved that county executive committee members for public service should refine strategies and action plans to achieve a wage bill-to-revenue ratio of 35 per cent. These were to be approved by June 2024, but counties have not complied,” she said.

Her office is tasked with ensuring that personnel costs fall to the 35 per cent target by June 2028. However, progress has stalled, with counties like Turkana, Bomet, Kajiado, and Lamu failing to submit any action plans.

The report also highlighted the risky reliance on manual payrolls in some counties, which processed Sh10.7 billion outside automated systems.

Manual payments were attributed to delays in assigning payroll numbers to new staff, short-term contracts for politically attached employees, and arrears owed to retirees.

Other Topics To Read

• News
• Headlines
• National
• Controller of Budget
• Margaret Nyakang'o
• salary delays
• COB
• Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o
• County payrolls
• CoB Margaret Nyakang’o warns counties overspending on salaries
• stalling service delivery

Garissa, Meru, Wajir, and Tharaka Nithi were identified for continuing manual systems, raising concerns about ghost workers and payroll manipulation.

Nyakang’o warned: “The action plan should have a clear timeline with measurable milestones and be forwarded to the Controller of Budget for monitoring.”

She added that starting from the 2025–26 financial year, exchequer requests for salaries processed manually will no longer be approved.