A serious budget crisis is unfolding across the country as the majority of county governments have yet to submit their annual budgets to the Controller of Budget, more than a month after the start of the new financial year.

This delay is now directly affecting the release of funds from the National Treasury, stalling operations and development activities in the affected counties.

According to the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, only 15 counties have so far submitted their 2025–26 financial year budgets.

Of these, only Nairobi and Kisii have been cleared. The rest are still under review, including Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Kakamega, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, West Pokot, Vihiga, Samburu, Kajiado, Laikipia and Lamu.

This failure to meet the deadline means counties that have not submitted their budgets—or are still undergoing review, cannot access funds from the National Treasury.

Only after approval by the Controller of Budget can counties place requisitions to finance specific budget items.

The situation comes as a surprise, especially since governors and county leaders have consistently blamed the National Treasury for delays in releasing funds. However, the current scenario points to internal county challenges as the main cause of the hold-up.

Nyakang’o pointed out that counties are flouting the law, which requires them to submit approved budgets to her office by June 30 each year to enable timely requisitions and disbursements.

“They should submit immediately after June 30. They are already breaking the law if the assembly does not pass the budget by that date,” Nyakang’o said.

In contrast, she noted that the national government’s budget was submitted promptly and signed by the President shortly after the June 30 deadline.

The Controller of Budget’s office, established under Article 228 of the Constitution, is tasked with overseeing the implementation of both national and county budgets by authorising the withdrawal of public funds.

Sources within the devolved units say the delays stem from a mix of poor coordination, conflicts between county assemblies and executives, and failure to process the documents on time. In some cases, political wrangles have brought operations to a standstill, including budget approvals.

Nyakang’o described the situation in some counties as marked by a “dysfunctional” and “convoluted” relationship between governors and assemblies, where political rivalry overrides development needs.

“In some cases, assemblies engage in what can only be described as political blackmail, deliberately delaying, rewriting, or rejecting proposals to extract concessions from governors, assert power, or settle scores,” she said.

Bungoma County is one of the most affected, with a court case now halting its operations.

A conflict between Governor Kenneth Lusaka’s administration and the county assembly has resulted in the disbanding of the budget committee. An ad hoc team was then formed and reportedly made major alterations to the executive’s budget.

“There is a serious case in Bungoma. The assembly disbanded the budget committee and formed an ad hoc one, which then mutilated the proposed budget. They passed their own version using coercive tactics,” Nyakang’o said.

As a result, the courts barred any disbursement of funds to the county, effectively freezing operations and bringing Lusaka’s development plans to a standstill.

Nyamira County is also facing turmoil after a failed impeachment attempt against Governor Amos Nyaribo. The fallout led to the removal of Speaker Enoch Okero, who was accused by some MCAs of betraying their cause.

The situation escalated to the point where two rival assemblies emerged. One faction, led by Okero, named itself Bunge Mashinani and began holding sittings outside the official assembly chamber, while the other continued operating as the formal county assembly.

These internal wrangles and missed deadlines now threaten to paralyse service delivery in several counties, even as citizens await critical development programmes to resume.