Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o/ HANDOUTA cash crunch has hit county governments, with more than 35 devolved units facing a salary crisis amid blame games over delayed budget approvals.
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The crisis has left thousands of county employees waiting for their July salaries. Some counties are unable to make payments despite having funds in their accounts.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has blamed governors for the delays, accusing counties of submitting their budgets late and failing to meet requirements for approval.
“As of August 10, 2026, 33 out of 47 county budgets, representing 70.2 per cent, had been submitted to the Controller of Budget, while 14 budgets, or 29.8 per cent, were still outstanding,” Nyakang’o said.
By 3pm yesterday, only nine county budgets had been approved, giving the affected administrations the green light to upload their budgets onto the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and make requisitions, including for salaries.
“Of the submitted budgets, nine had completed the review process and received a Budget Clearance Letter for IFMIS upload from the CoB,” Nyakang’o said.
The counties are Samburu, Kakamega, Kisii, Vihiga, Mandera, Wajir, Lamu, Taita Taveta and West Pokot.
Four other budgets — Nyamira, Isiolo, Tharaka Nithi and Turkana — were still under review as of yesterday.
Another 18 counties had received comment letters from the CoB over omissions and other issues identified during the review process.
The remaining 14 counties had not submitted their budgets to the Controller of Budget.
They are Nairobi, Nyandarua, Kisumu, Siaya, Embu, Garissa, Kitui, Meru, Machakos, Mombasa, Tana River, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu.
According to the CoB, counties are required to submit their budgets by June 30 of every financial year.
However, most counties submitted their budgets only last week, putting pressure on the approval process at a time when counties are required to pay salaries and meet other obligations.
“Their budgets have not been uploaded into IFMIS. They submitted their budgets in August, and I have to go through each of them,” Nyakang’o said.
She said some of the budgets she had reviewed contained “serious omissions”, forcing her office to send them back to the counties for compliance.
“You find most of them have not attached everything in the checklist. They have no plans for payment of pending bills, there is no fiscal strategy paper and there is no evidence of public participation,” she said.
Nyakang’o said her office would not approve budgets that failed to meet the legal and administrative requirements.
“I have done letters to these counties and told them to do the right thing. This is the final year of the election. I’m very keen. I will not let anything pass, especially if the errors or omissions are fundamental,” she said.
The Nyakang’o said nearly all counties have substantial balances in their accounts after the National Treasury released funds for July.
However, the counties cannot spend the money until their budgets have been approved and requisitions cleared.
The situation has left most counties unable to pay salaries or finance essential services, triggering disquiet among employees.
“Yes, we have not received money. We cannot make any payments, including salary. It is not us alone. It is all over,” Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr said.
Mutula accused the CoB of treating all counties as if they had delayed submitting their budgets.
He said Makueni had submitted its budget on June 30 and should not be lumped together with counties that submitted their documents weeks later.
“If some counties submitted their budgets last week, we cannot be treated the same as them. We complied with the set timelines,” Mutula said.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff said the crisis should be handled on a county-by-county basis, arguing that individual administrations should explain why their budgets had not been approved.
“For my county, my finance people are on it. It is important for every individual county to speak for itself,” he said.
In Nairobi, the county government has already notified employees of the delay in payment of their July salaries.
The administration attributed the delay to the pending approval and uploading of the county budget.
“The Nairobi City County Government wishes to inform all employees that there is a delay in the payment of the July 2026 salaries, occasioned by the delay in the approval and uploading of the county budget,” acting County Secretary Godfrey Akumali said in a notice to employees on Monday.
“The management sincerely regrets the inconveniences and challenges that this situation may cause and wishes to assure all staff that the matter is receiving the highest priority,” Akumali said.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The budget delays are disrupting county operations and putting thousands of workers under financial strain as salaries remain unpaid.
They also risk slowing essential services, including healthcare, waste management and other public programmes. Counties may struggle to meet pending bills and implement development projects despite having funds in their accounts.
The standoff could further damage relations between governors and the Controller of Budget while exposing weaknesses in county financial planning.
Prolonged delays could ultimately hurt service delivery and public confidence in devolution.
