In a major move to rein in wasteful spending at the county level, senators have cut down the recurrent expenditure ceilings for county executives by Sh10.34 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, citing concerns over misuse of public funds on non-essential expenses.

The Senate approved a significant reduction of the expenditure limit for county executives from Sh33.75 billion in the previous financial year to Sh23.41 billion. The decision targets recurrent expenses not related to salaries and benefits for county staff and is meant to enforce financial discipline within devolved units.

This intervention comes amid growing scrutiny over county executives’ spending habits, with senators pointing to what they called excessive and non-priority expenditures by governors and top county officials, often prioritising perks over development.

“The Public Finance Management Act gives the Senate the power to set these ceilings in a manner that promotes fiscal discipline at the county level,” the lawmakers said.

Governors, however, have defended the need for more funding, arguing that the rising cost of living, inflation, and high fuel prices have made it more expensive to run county operations. They have called for an increase in recurrent ceilings to reflect the growing costs.

The Senate’s action follows a series of reports by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o which revealed that counties were allocating a large portion of their budgets to salaries and allowances while leaving little for key development projects.

Meanwhile, county assemblies have been granted some relief, with the Senate raising their spending limit from Sh36.36 billion to Sh38.25 billion an increase of Sh1.86 billion.

According to the approved figures, the Nairobi executive will have the highest spending window at Sh775.75 million, though this is a drop from the Sh924.64 million allocated in the previous year.

Kiambu’s executive ceiling has dropped to Sh642.09 million from Sh937.94 million, while Kakamega’s was cut to Sh631.90 million from Sh954.36 million.

Other counties facing sharp reductions include Nakuru, down to Sh622.62 million from Sh949.69 million; Migori, cut to Sh538.50 million from Sh803.30 million; and Machakos, now at Sh540.77 million from Sh817.38 million.

Kitui’s ceiling has been lowered to Sh556.90 million from Sh1.03 billion, and Meru’s from Sh1.04 billion to Sh565.02 million.

Murang’a will now spend up to Sh515.20 million, a reduction from Sh822.21 million. Baringo has been allocated Sh496.16 million, Bomet Sh468.73 million, Bungoma Sh562.05 million, Kisumu Sh522.10 million, and Mombasa Sh497.26 million.

Others include Kajiado at Sh459.20 million and Mandera at Sh511.94 million.

For assemblies, Nairobi continues to lead with a spending cap of Sh1.56 billion, a slight reduction from Sh1.59 billion. Nakuru will spend Sh949.69 million, down from Sh1.12 billion, while Kakamega’s limit has been set at Sh1.24 billion from Sh1.27 billion.

Kiambu assembly will now have a ceiling of Sh1.20 billion, up from Sh1.12 billion, with Kisii’s limit raised to Sh1.05 billion from Sh994.07 million. Meru’s ceiling has slightly increased to Sh1.04 billion from Sh1.03 billion.

Other counties with high assembly budgets include Narok (Sh878.62 million), Turkana (Sh863.84 million), Wajir (Sh784.44 million), Murang’a (Sh813.71 million), Migori (Sh936.95 million), Mandera (Sh917.93 million), Marsabit (Sh741.49 million), Nandi (Sh781.14 million), Machakos (Sh957.19 million), Busia (Sh859.60 million), and Garissa (Sh903.12 million).