The Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations is pushing for real-time, unfettered access to County Government bank accounts by the Central Bank of Kenya, the Auditor General and the Controller of Budget (CoB).
This move aims to tackle fiscal indiscipline and enhance transparency within Kenya’s devolved units, in response to growing concerns about the large number of commercial bank accounts held by some county governments.
The latest County Governments' Budget Implementation Review Report by the CoB revealed that some counties have over 300 bank accounts.
The Committee Chair, Senator Mohamed Abass, said that if the measure is implemented, it will be a game-changer in fostering unprecedented oversight and safeguarding public resources.
"The National Treasury must review the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015, to grant the Central Bank, Controller of Budget, and the Office of the Auditor General real-time system access to all accounts, with clear sanctions for non-compliance," Senator Abass stated.
"This will strengthen oversight, enhance transparency, and safeguard public resources."
The committee officially adopted its report on an inquiry into the large number of commercial bank accounts opened and operated following consistent Auditor-General reports that highlighted discrepancies, non-disclosure, and a lack of banking rules regarding county commercial accounts.
In addition to the access, the senators further sought to have the National Treasury collaborate with the Auditor General to conduct an immediate and comprehensive audit of all county government commercial bank accounts.
After the audit, the committee had recommended closing of inactive accounts and transferring residual balances to the County Revenue Fund.
In the CoB report, it was revealed that Kitui County had the largest number of bank accounts, clocking in at 350 bank accounts.
Nakuru followed with 311, then Bungoma with 301, Baringo with 280, Homa Bay with 274, Kericho with 245, Kwale with 240, Machakos with 231, and Embu with 222.
Some with bigger economies, most notably, did not appear in the top 10. Nairobi was recorded to have had 174 bank accounts, Mombasa had 94, and Kiambu had 74. Kisumu County recorded 190 accounts, and Meru County had 71.
On the lowest end was Nandi with just 10 bank accounts. Kisii County had 14, Siaya had 15, both Tana River and Tharaka Nithi Counties had 16 bank accounts, and Murang'a had 20.
