A report compiled by the Senate Finance Committee has revealed the top five counties that have accrued massive debts due to wasteful usage in the last financial year.
The report tabled in the Senate by Committee Chairman Billow Kerrow, exposed that governors had accrued more than Sh35 Billion pending bills owing to misappropriation in their budgets.
According to the findings, counties with the highest pending bills were led by Bungoma at Sh2.5 Billion followed by Turkana with Sh2.4 Billion.
Kisumu was rated third with piling debts of up to Sh2.2 Billion, Nakuru (Sh2.1 Billion) with Vihiga County closing the list of extravagant governments with bills worth Sh2 Billion.
The findings sparked uproar in the House when Kerrow disclosed how counties had been diverting funds for budgeted projects with other funds being used to pay non-existent items.
“Counties tend to divert money for projects to finance unplanned activities based on roadside declarations by governors so that when the contractors present completion certificates, they find that there is no money to settle them. In some counties, there are a lot of fictitious invoices presented for payment,” he stated.
In February, a report by the Controller of Budget made public the counties that had spent heavily on allowances and travel expenses for Members of County Assembly (MCA), within a period of three months.
The summary showed that Migori County led the pack splashing Sh533,548 on sitting allowances, followed by Trans Nzoia County which spent Sh509,480. Mombasa County Assembly came third spending Sh461,481 on MCAs allowances.
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