They say the practice is fuelling wasteful supplementary budgets, slowing development ICPAK chair Elizabeth Kalunda, Convener, Public Finance and Tax Committee at ICPAK Robert Waruiru, CEO Grace Kamau, KRA Chief Manager, Policy and Tax Advisory Josephine Mugure and Deputy Director of Research and Planning at the Office of the Controller of Budget Cyrus Ondari, during the ICPAK post-budget public finance discussion.
/HANDOUT The government should not allocate billions of shillings to ministries and counties that lack the capacity to spend the money, financial professionals have advised. The experts say the practice is fuelling wasteful supplementary budgets, slowing development projects and undermining value for taxpayers.
Speaking during a post budget public finance discussion by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, office of the controller of budget argued that public spending plans should be based not only on available resources but also on the ability of government agencies to implement projects within the financial year.
"If we know that you cannot absorb the funds, then let's not give it to you, ministries frequently receive large allocations only to spend a fraction of the money before seeking reallocations through supplementary budgets,” Deputy Director Research and Planning, in the Office of the Controller of Budget Cyrus Ondari said.
From the forum it emerged that weak procurement systems, implementation delays and poor project planning continue to limit budget absorption, particularly for development expenditure, leaving billions of shillings idle while critical infrastructure and public service projects stall.
For Instance, a review of the latest Controller of Budget report for the nine-month period to March 2026, shows that five counties did not refund unspent balances from the 2024-25 financial year to their County Revenue Fund (CRF) accounts. Bomet, Kericho, Laikipia, Nairobi City and Nandi County failed to return the funds as required under Section 136 of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012.
Instead, the unspent balances were carried forward and used in the subsequent financial year. "We monitor how resources allocated to national and county governments are utilised to ensure they translate into effective service delivery," added Ondari. The warning comes as Kenya prepares for another budget cycle amid mounting pressure to balance growing debt obligations, rising recurrent expenditure and ambitious revenue targets.