Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko now claims that bureaucratic delays in the approval and uploading of county budgets are the main cause of salary delays affecting hundreds of workers in 21 counties.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Ayacko said some counties had received their allocations for July and August but were unable to access the funds because their budgets had not been cleared for uploading into the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Tuesday, August 25, Ayacko said Migori County had passed its budget but faced persistent delays at the Office of the Controller of Budget.

“We have received money for July and money for August, but these monies lie idle in our Central Bank account,” Ayacko said.

📌 What You Need to Know

The governor explained that counties must have their budgets cleared by the Controller of Budget before they can upload them into IFMIS and access funds to finance their activities.

According to him, Migori submitted its budget for approval but had to wait about three weeks before the Controller of Budget allowed the county to proceed with the uploading process.

He claimed the delay was frustrating for most counties because Margaret Nyakang'o's office is not bound by any deadline that will make it approve the county budgets within specific timelines.

“The Controller controls, and the legislation empowers the office to be satisfied that everything was done in compliance with the law,” Ayacko explained.

However, he argued that the lack of a strict timeline could make the approval process a huge challenge to county operations in the future, even as he called for intervention.

Ayacko said Migori had responded to queries raised by the Controller of Budget but did not receive a response immediately, further delaying the process.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke