Lead image for Embu, Narok and Wajir lead county fiscal performance but lack clear gender budgets .
Embu, Narok and Wajir were the only counties to receive an overall Grade B in the 2024/25 financial year. But the budget records reveal that tracking money set aside for gender programmes in these leading counties is inconsistent and unclear.
No county achieved an overall Grade A in the latest County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index developed by Parliament’s Parliamentary Budget Office. Embu had the highest score among the three at 0.689, followed by Narok at 0.608 and Wajir at 0.605.
The index looks at how well counties manage their budgets, development spending, own-source revenue, wages, pending bills, county assembly spending and audit matters. An analysis of the counties’ budget implementation review reports by the Office of the Controller of Budget shows that all three counties fund gender-related programmes. But the way the allocation and expenditure is reported varies.
2022/23
In the 2022/23 financial year, Embu had a gender mainstreaming and development sub-programme. The county allocated Sh3.04 million for recurrent spending and Sh7.58 million for development, giving a total approved allocation of Sh10.63 million. It spent Sh2.76 million of the recurrent allocation and Sh5.29 million of the development allocation, with absorption rates of 90.7 per cent and 69.7 per cent, respectively.
Narok reported a gender affairs and social services sub-programme, with a recurrent allocation of Sh21.86 million. It spent Sh14.89 million, absorbing 68.12 per cent. No development allocation is shown for the sub-programme in the report.
Wajir had a gender and social services sub-programme, with Sh138.89 million allocated for recurrent spending and Sh1.2 million for development. It spent Sh93.08 million of the recurrent allocation, absorbing 67 per cent, and the full Sh1.2 million development allocation, giving an absorption rate of 100 per cent.