Expenditures by County Governments - Development and Recurrent

The national government allocates money to counties annually to meet their development and recurrent expenditures. 

Development expenditures go toward new projects in the county, while recurrent expenditures ensure the continuity of county government functions by spending on operations, maintenance, and personnel emoluments.

Quick Facts^[1]

1. The approved budget for county governments in FY 2023/2024 – Ksh 562.75 billion
2. Approved development budget – Ksh 189.93 billion
3. Approved recurrent budget – Ksh 372.82 billion
4. Total revenue available to the counties in FY 2023/2024 – Ksh 492.47 billion 
5. Equitable share allocation to counties – Ksh 354.59 billion
6. Own Source Revenue collected by the counties  – Ksh 58.95 billion
7. Conditional grants from development partners – Ksh 35.97 billion
8. Cash balances – Ksh 42.96 billion
9. Average monthly MCA sitting allowance – Ksh 59,508
10. Total pending bills by the counties – Ksh 181.98 billion

Total approved budgets for county governments

According to the Office of the Controller of Budget, the County Assemblies approved a total budget of Ksh 562.75 billion in the Financial Year 2023/2024, with 66.2% of the budget allocated to recurrent expenditure and 33.8% allocated to development.

The total amount allocated to development by the County Assemblies was Ksh 189.93 billion, and the amount allocated to recurrent expenditure was Ksh 372.82 billion.

Available funds for county governments

County governments have various sources of funds including the equitable share, which is collected by the national government and distributed to the counties, own source revenue collected locally within counties, and conditional grants received from development partners.

The total available funds to the county governments in the financial year 2023/2024 were Ksh 492.47 billion.

The equitable share amounted to Ksh 354.59 billion, while the own-source revenue collected by all 47 counties amounted to Ksh 58.95 billion. 

The chart below shows the equitable share allocation to the counties by the national government of Kenya from 2013 to 2024. 

In addition, the counties received conditional grants amounting to Ksh 35.97 billion from development partners.

Cash balances in the counties amounted to Ksh 42.96 billion.

County government expenditure on recurrent and development expenditure

Recurrent expenditure is money spent by the county governments on operations, maintenance, and personnel emoluments. Personnel emoluments consist of salaries and benefits to county government employees.

In the Financial Year 2023/2024, the total amount spent on development by the 47 counties was Ksh 109.23 billion, representing an absorption rate of 57.5% of the total development budget of Ksh 189.93 billion.

The chart below shows county government expenditure on development, operations and maintenance, and personnel emoluments (salaries and benefits). 

On the other hand, the overall recurrent expenditure was Ksh 337.53 billion in the Financial Year 2023/2024, representing an absorption rate of 90.5% of the total budget on recurrent expenditure.

Recurrent expenditure by the counties consists of: 

1. Personnel emoluments – Ksh 209.84 billion
2. Operations and maintenance – Ksh 127.69 billion

Spending on personnel emoluments accounted for 62.2% of the total recurrent expenditure, while operations and maintenance accounted for 37.8%.

County government development budget as a percentage of the total budget

The Public Finance Management Act of 2012 requires that at least 30% of a county’s budget go toward development. In FY 2023/2024, the average county allocation to development was 33.8%.

The counties with the highest development budgets were Marsabit, 45.9%; Kwale, 43%; Trans Nzoia, 42.8%; Kilifi, 42.2%; Nakuru, 41.5%; Turkana, 41%; Garissa, 40.3%; and Tana River, 40.1%.

The counties with the lowest development budgets as a share of the total budget were Nairobi at 20%, Bomet at 28%, Kakamega at 29.1%, Nyamira at 29.6%, West Pokot at 29.7%, Makueni at 29.8%, and Murang'a at 30%.

County government development expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure

The 47 counties spent, on average, 24.4% of their total expenditure on development.

The counties with the highest development expenditures as a percentage of total expenditure were Marsabit at 38.6%, Narok at 34%, Homa Bay at 33.3%, Mandera at 33.3%, Siaya at 32.6%, Trans Nzoia at 31%, Kitui at 30.8%, Kilifi at 30.6%, and Turkana at 30.6%.

The counties with the lowest development expenditures as a percentage of total expenditure were Nairobi at 10.3%, Kisii at 13.7%, Mombasa at 16.2%, Kisumu at 17.5%, Taita Taveta at 18.6%, Kiambu at 19.4%, and Kakamega at 20.2%.

Average monthly sitting allowances for MCAs

The total budget for MCA's sitting allowances in the Financial Year 2023/2024 was Ksh 1.85 billion. However, the uptake was only 85.5%, with counties spending a total of 1.59 billion on MCA sitting allowances.

The average monthly MCA sitting allowance was Ksh 59,508. Counties spending the highest on MCA sitting allowances include:

1. Kakamega – Ksh 121,196
2. Taita Taveta – Ksh 106,125
3. Kajiado – Ksh 94,188
4. Baringo – Ksh 88,353
5. Wajir – Ksh 86,233
6. Meru – Ksh 86,178
7. Embu – Ksh 78,098
8. Kisii – 75,583

Counties that spent the lowest on MCA sitting allowances were:

1. Nyamira – Ksh 15,430
2. Tana River – Ksh 20,980
3. Turkana – Ksh 21,619
4. Kitui – Ksh 27,406
5. Laikipia – Ksh 34,938
6. Nandi – Ksh 36,008
7. Garissa – Ksh 38,089
8. Nyeri – Ksh 38,637
9. Nairobi – Ksh 39,955

Pending bills by county

The 47 counties had outstanding pending bills of Ksh 181.98 billion as of 30^th June 2024. This included pending bills of Ksh 179.87 billion by the county executive and Ksh 2.11 billion by the county assemblies.

See Also

1. Total pending bills by county and national government 
2. National Government Expenditure on Foreign Travel 
3. National Government Expenditure on Education

References