Ruto Signs County Revenue Law as Controller Questions Spending Transparency
County governments are facing renewed scrutiny over how they account for public funds after the Controller of Budget flagged billions of shillings booked under vague expenditure categories with little or no explanation, just as fresh allocations are set to be released for the 2026/2027 financial year.
President William Ruto has signed the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, clearing the way for counties to begin receiving their equitable share from July 1. However, the latest Controller of Budget report has raised concerns that several devolved units are increasingly using a broad budget line labelled “Other Operating Expenses – Other” to record expenditure that should ordinarily be classified under specific budget codes.
According to the report, counties spent approximately Sh88.2 billion on operations and maintenance during the first nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year. Out of this amount, Sh13.2 billion was spent on domestic and foreign travel, with domestic travel accounting for Sh11.4 billion and foreign travel consuming Sh1.8 billion.
Nairobi recorded the highest travel expenditure at Sh1.55 billion, followed by Bungoma, Kajiado, Baringo and Nakuru. Baringo posted the highest travel burden, spending 42 percent of its entire non-salary operations and maintenance budget on travel alone.
The Controller of Budget also questioned the growing use of the “Other Operating Expenses – Other” vote, warning that it makes it difficult to determine how public funds are actually spent. Bungoma County reported Sh521.67 million under the category while separately declaring Sh360.5 million for domestic travel and Sh12.58 million for foreign travel. Makueni County similarly spent Sh566.21 million under the same expenditure code, with auditors noting that more than Sh200 million should have been recorded under existing budget classifications.
Other counties that reported more than Sh100 million under the vague expenditure category include Busia, Kitui, Wajir, Meru, Mombasa, Trans Nzoia, Machakos and Kajiado, without providing detailed breakdowns of how the funds were utilized.
Only six counties — Isiolo, Laikipia, Migori, Murang’a, Nairobi City and Nakuru — reported zero expenditure under the “Other Operating Expenses – Other” vote, a practice the Controller commended for promoting transparency and strengthening accountability.
With counties set to receive another Sh428 billion in equitable share beginning this week, the Controller of Budget has urged all county governments to strictly adhere to the government’s chart of accounts, warning that continued use of vague expenditure categories undermines public oversight and accountability over devolved funds.
