By Janet Nyamwamu
Kisii County has drawn sharp criticism in the Senate for repeated violations of fiscal responsibility laws, with legislators alarmed by its surging wage bill and disregard for public finance management regulations.
Governors from Kisii and Siaya appeared before the Senate to report on the implementation of recommendations stemming from the Auditor General’s 2023/2024 financial year report.
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In Kisii, Senators voiced deep concern that the county’s wage bill had ballooned to 60% of total revenue—far exceeding the legal ceiling of 35%.
This figure could climb even higher with plans to recruit additional health workers. Lawmakers urged the county to act swiftly on findings from the 2023 Human Resource audit to ease the mounting burden.
Siaya County, in contrast, earned accolades from the House. Senators commended its County Assembly for being the first to consider and adopt the latest audit findings.
The House further examined hospital user fees, warning that their growth may reflect escalating disease burdens or more expensive care.
With the rollout of the Social Health Insurance scheme, Senators urged the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) to verify anticipated declines in such fees.
The Senate also sounded an alarm over the rollout of county industrial and aggregation parks, pointing to potential design flaws that could reduce the KSh 23 billion national initiative to a costly white elephant.
