President-elect William Ruto has cautioned county governors over sending him congratulatory messages following the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold his election.
In a letter dated Wednesday, September 7, the Ministry of Devolution Principal Secretary Julius Korir, termed the adverts run in daily newspapers as an extravagant expenditure of public resources.
Korir called on the county governments to desist from the adverts with immediate effect and heed the call by Ruto on the use of taxpayers' money.
"It is the intention of the new administration to give Kenyans value for their money. In line with advice from the President-elect, the congratulatory adverts are hereby discouraged with immediate effect," the letter read in part.
The PS warned the county bosses that misuse of county funds was a violation of the Public Financial Management Act (2012) and would likely lead to financial constraints within the county.
He directed governors intending to explore other pocket-friendly platforms such as social media.
"Chapter 12 (201) (d) highlights that public money shall be used in a prudent and responsible way. Further, the Act (No. 18 of 2012) advocates for effective management and expenditure of public funds by both levels of government,"
"Counties are further encouraged to cut on wastage as some resources can be used to provide essential services to Kenyans, in line with their priorities, in projects that impact their lives," stated the Ministry.
The average cost of running an advert in a newspaper ranges between Ksh500,000 to Ksh1 million for full-page coloured ads.
However, this subject, availability of space, and page number in which the ad appears could affect the final costs.
The directive by the Ministry of Devolution comes barely weeks after Controller of Budget, Mary Nyakang'o, declined to approve budgets for swearing-in ceremonies of elected governors, submitted by county committees.
While Nyakang'o averaged the budget per county to Ksh1 million, some counties such as Nairobi, Siaya and Nyeri asked for Ksh20 million, Ksh12.5 million and Ksh5 million respectively.
