Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has slammed the Controller of Budget (CoB), questioning whether her office properly authorised county governments’ travel expenditure after a report revealed that counties spent Sh13.17 billion on domestic and foreign trips in the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year.
In an open letter addressed to CoB Margaret Nyakango, the legislator demanded that she clarify who approved the withdrawals, under what authority they were made, and who should be held responsible if the spending was unlawful.
Ole Kina raised concerns about the role of the Office of the Controller of Budget in approving county spending, citing constitutional requirements that withdrawals from public funds may be made only for lawful and approved expenditure.
“Article 228(5) of the Constitution is explicit and leaves no room for ambiguity: your office is mandated to authorise withdrawals only for expenditures that are lawful and properly approved. County spending must, at all times, be firmly anchored in an approved budget,” Ole Kina said.
The senator said the latest report on county governments’ local and foreign travel expenditure required further explanation, arguing that listing the figures alone did not provide sufficient information on whether the spending complied with the law.
“It is against this clear constitutional duty that your recent report on county governments’ local and foreign travel must be examined. As it stands, the report risks being interpreted as a distraction rather than a genuine accountability tool,” he said.
“Simply restating figures on travel expenditure, without clearly indicating whether such spending was lawfully approved, does little to advance transparency.”
Ole Kina also questioned whether the CoB’s office only recorded expenditure already approved by county assemblies or whether it authorised withdrawals for spending that lacked legal backing.
“The fundamental question that your report fails to answer is this: was your office merely documenting expenditures already sanctioned by county assemblies, or did it authorise withdrawals for spending that was not supported by law?” he posed.
He warned that if withdrawals were approved for unlawful expenditure, those responsible should be identified and held accountable.
“If your office approved withdrawals for expenditures outside the law, then this constitutes a grave breach of constitutional responsibility. The country deserves clarity on who authorised such withdrawals, under what authority, and who must ultimately be held accountable.” Ole Kina said.
The senator said Kenyans expected the Office of the Controller of Budget to protect public resources and ensure that government funds were used responsibly.
“Kenyans expect the Office of the Controller of Budget to be a firm guardian of public resources, not a passive observer or a conduit for questionable expenditure. Anything less undermines both the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” he added.
His remarks followed the release of the County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report, which showed that counties spent Sh13.17 billion on domestic and foreign travel between July 2025 and March 2026.
The expenditure accounted for 15 per cent of the Sh88.22 billion spent by counties on operations and maintenance during the review period.
The report showed that Nairobi County recorded the highest spending on official travel, using more than Sh1.57 billion on domestic and foreign trips during the nine months.
Nairobi spent Sh1.2 billion on domestic travel and another Sh373.6 million on foreign travel, according to the report.
West Pokot County recorded the second-highest domestic travel expenditure at Sh492.9 million, while spending Sh11.37 million on foreign trips.
Baringo County was also among the counties with the highest travel costs, with officials spending Sh48.3 million on domestic travel and Sh40.64 million on foreign travel.
The report further showed that Baringo had the highest travel-to-operations and maintenance expenditure ratio at 42 per cent. It was followed by Lamu County at 36 per cent, Homa Bay County at 35 per cent and West Pokot at 32 per cent.
Mandera recorded the lowest ratio at four per cent, while Kilifi and Wajir each recorded six per cent.
Garissa and Mandera were among the counties with the lowest domestic travel spending, recording Sh62.17 million and Sh77.19 million, respectively.
The report also indicated that Kirinyaga, Siaya and Homa Bay counties did not spend any money on foreign travel during the period under review.
The findings came despite government efforts to reduce public spending through austerity measures announced after the withdrawal of the 2024 Finance Bill.
The measures included reducing non-essential domestic and foreign travel, cutting the number of advisers and reviewing state corporations with overlapping roles.
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