Monster: Shock as county wage bills shoot up by Sh10.8 billion in a year

COUNTY governments are staring at a crisis as wage bills balloon into an uncontrollable monster, swallowing resources meant to fuel the devolution dream.

In just one year, the salaries and allowances paid by the counties have shot up by Sh10.8 billion.

The latest report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o reveals that counties spent a staggering Sh220.64 billion on salaries and allowances in the financial year ending June 30, 2025.

The surge exposes the wage bill as the single biggest threat to devolved government.

Driven by over-employment, nepotism, and the persistence of ghost workers, counties have transformed into bloated employment bureaus, diverting funds away from roads, hospitals, and other grassroots development projects.

The report shows that employee compensation consumed 47 per cent of total county spending (Sh470.23 billion) and 41 per cent of actual revenue (Sh533.11 billion)—far above the Public Finance Management thresholds.

 In some counties, the wage bill gulps down as much as 55 per cent of revenues, leaving a thin 45 per cent to cover operations and development.

As a result, development continues to suffer.

Counties spent Sh123.76 billion on development, just 26 per cent of total expenditure, with 23 counties failing to meet the 30 per cent minimum threshold.

The numbers stand in stark contrast to the original promise of devolution.

 Envisioned as engines of equitable growth and service delivery, counties have instead become weighed down by a payroll culture that starves communities of meaningful development.

Regulation 25(1)(b) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015 caps employee compensation at 35 per cent of total revenue.

Nyakang’o revealed that only eight counties complied, including Kilifi (24 per cent), Siaya (26 per cent), Tana River (27 per cent), and Nakuru (30 per cent).

According to the report, counties that spent the highest amount as a percentage of their revenues include Nyeri (55 per cent), Machakos (54.5 per cent), Baringo (53.4 per cent), Tharaka Nithi (53 per cent) and Taita Taveta (51 per cent).

Others are Elgeyo Marakwet (51 per cent), Nairobi (50.8 per cent), Homa Bay and Lamu at 50 per cent each, Murang’a (48 per cent), Kisumu (48 per cent), Bomet (48.6 per cent), Mombasa (47 per cent), Vihiga (47 per cent), Marsabit (43 per cent), Nyamira (44 per cent) and Busia (44 per cent).

Also in the list of shame are West Pokot (44 per cent), Kisii (45 per cent), Kakamega (44 per cent), Kajiado (43 per cent), Embu (43 per cent), Garissa (43 per cent), Kiambu (42 per cent)

As a result, development continues to suffer.

Nairobi was the worst offender, allocating only 12 per cent to development, followed by Machakos (16 per cent), Kisumu (17 per cent), Kiambu and Kajiado (18 per cent), and Nyamira (19 per cent).

The CoB expressed concern that most counties have ignored resolutions of the 2024 National Wage Bill Conference, which required all state entities to trim wage bills to sustainable levels.

“The National Wage Bill Conference resolved that county executive committee members for public service should refine strategies and action plans to achieve a wage bill-to-revenue ratio of 35 per cent. These were to be approved by June 2024, but counties have not complied,” Nyakang’o said.

Her office was tasked with ensuring personnel emoluments fall to the 35 per cent threshold by June 2028, but progress has stalled.

Counties such as Turkana, Bomet, Kajiado, and Lamu were flagged for failing to submit action plans altogether.

The report also revealed a worrying return to manual payrolls in several counties, undermining accountability.

A total of Sh10.7 billion—five per cent of total wage spending—was processed manually, bypassing the automated payroll system.

Reasons cited include delays in payroll numbers for new staff, short-term contracts for partisan employees attached to MCAs, and arrears owed to retirees.

Counties such as Garissa, Meru, Wajir, and Tharaka Nithi were singled out for persisting with manual systems, raising red flags about ghost workers and manipulation of salary records.

“The action plan should have a clear timeline with measurable milestones and be forwarded to the Controller of Budget for monitoring,” Nyakang’o directed.

She added that from the 2025-26 financial year, exchequer requisitions for salaries on manual payrolls will not be approved.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The wage bill, now devouring nearly half of county budgets, is squeezing out development spending and threatening the future of devolution. Unless counties curb the monster, Nyakang’o warned, the promise of devolution risks collapsing under the weight of unsustainable personnel costs.