Nairobi MCAs gobbled Sh150 million in sitting allowance
Nairobi had the highest expenditure on county assembly members’ sitting allowances at Sh150 million, a report by the Controller of Budget shows
The capital city was followed by Kakamega (Sh147 million), Migori (Sh130 million), Homa Bay (Sh126 million) and Kisii (Sh118 million).
Counties which spent the lowest amounts on sitting allowances, according to the Annual County Budget Implementation Review Report (CBIRR) for 2014/2015, are Tharaka-Nithi (Sh20 million), Laikipia (Sh17 million) and Isiolo (Sh13 million).
The report singles out Turkana County for spending Sh54 million on members’ sitting allowances, which exceeded its annual Sh10 million allocation by a massive 494 per cent.
EXCEEDED BUDGETS
Other counties that exceeded their annual budgets for MCAs’ allowances are Kisii (134.6 per cent), Murang’a (126.3 per cent), Nyandarua (112.2 per cent), Bomet (111.2 per cent), Siaya (110.1 per cent) and Nyeri (105.6 per cent).
The report shows that Kiambu County spent the highest amount on domestic and foreign travel at Sh370 million followed by Kajiado (Sh354 million), Nairobi (Sh340 million) and Turkana (Sh294 million).
Conversely, Mombasa (Sh22 million), Vihiga (Sh84 million), Kirinyaga (Sh95 million) and Elgeyo-Marakwet (Sh104 million) had the least expenditure on domestic and foreign travel.
The CoB recommends that the excess expenditure on domestic and foreign travel be investigated and remedial action taken to recover the money.
The report notes that counties which recorded the lowest amounts on MCAs’ sitting allowances to their respective annual budgets were Tana River (44 per cent), Mandera (43.8 per cent) and Wajir (37 per cent).
The Controller of Budget adds that the average sitting allowances paid to MCAs of Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Kisumu, Lamu, Migori, Murang’a, Nyamira, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Siaya, Trans Nzoia, Turkana, Vihiga and Wajir counties exceeded the Sh124,800 ceiling set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
FOREIGN TRAVEL
The CoB also notes that the 47 counties spent Sh9 billion on domestic and foreign travel, up from Sh7.7 billion in the previous financial year.
The report indicates that 14 counties exceeded their annual allocation for domestic and foreign travel. These are Baringo, Bomet, Embu, Homa Bay, Kericho, Kisii, Machakos, Murang’a, Nakuru, Siaya, Trans Nzoia, Vihiga, Wajir and West Pokot.
The CoB recommends that an audit of the domestic and foreign travel costs be conducted to ascertain the validity of the expenditure.
The report further notes that Turkana County recorded the highest expenditure on development projects during the financial year at Sh5.78 billion, followed by Mandera (Sh4.9 billion) and Wajir (Sh3.9 billion).
On the other hand, Lamu (Sh575 million), Embu (Sh625 million), Kirinyaga (Sh902 million) and Tharaka-Nithi (Sh906 million) spent the least amounts on development.