Availing of county budget details up, but key information remains hidden - survey

In a diligent strive to be seen and rendered accountable, county governments in Kenya are now making more budget documents available to the public.

According to the public finance watchdog Bajeti Hub, the increased openness reflects growing recognition among counties of the need to engage citizens and promote transparency in public spending.

However, the provision of important details that truly matter in the reports is lagging.

In its latest Kenya County Budget Transparency Survey (CBTS), the watchdog notes that although more counties are releasing additional budget reports, the quality and comprehensiveness of these reports are not keeping pace.

In other terms, fewer counties are offering full disclosure on spending and implementation, raising fears that Kenyans remain unaware of how billions in public money are used, which undermines trust in devolved governance.

“Key budget documents published by counties still do not provide 39 per cent of the information that is required to be provided by law,” the survey report reads.

It adds that there is a moderate acceleration between the availability of budget documents and their comprehensiveness.

Notably, in the Financial Year (2023/2024) under review, the County Fiscal Strategy Paper had the highest number of published documents, with an availability of 100 per cent, yet it lacked 40 per cent of the information required by law.

The Citizens Budget disclosed the least information among the seven key budget documents evaluated for their comprehensiveness.

They provided less than half (33 out of 100 points) of the required budget information, despite a 43 per cent increase in availability from the previous reporting year.

“Worryingly, this comprehensiveness score marks a significant 15-point decrease in comprehensiveness over 2023 (48 points), suggesting that while more counties published Citizen Budgets in 2024, these were relatively less comprehensive than those provided in the previous financial year,” the report adds in part.

The other evaluated documents are the County Budget Review and Outlook Paper, the Finance Act, Quarterly Budget Implementation Report, Approved Programme-Based Budget and Annual Development Plan.

Additionally, the Bajeti hub highlights the continued struggle by counties to provide feedback on public participation.

The score on public participation fell to 12 out of 100 points, a decrease from 13 points in the previous year.

“Since 2020, eight counties have never provided any information on public participation.”

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Generally, the measure of budget transparency during the year marked significant improvement, with the CBTS 2024 score standing at 64 out of 100 points, an 8-point increase from CBTS 2023.

Overall, 33 counties registered an improvement in their overall transparency score from 2023, while 72 per cent counties scored above 60 out of 100 points.

Three counties landed in the A category, recording an index score of more than 81 out of 100, the most in CBTS history.

West Pokot County was the most transparent county with an index score of 84 out of 100 points, followed by Makueni with 83 points and Busia with 81 points.

In contrast, Marsabit (10), Isiolo (31), Migori (34) and Embu (38) ranked the least transparent counties in the period under review.

The Kenya County Budget Transparency Survey (CBTS) is an annual assessment that evaluates the transparency and accessibility of county government budgets across Kenya.

Its primary aim is to promote accountability, public participation, and effective service delivery by scrutinising how counties manage and disclose their financial information.