Despite repeated appeals for more resources to bolster oversight of public funds, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o’s office has suffered a Sh70 million budget cut, further straining critical functions such as monitoring, evaluation, and staff welfare.
The National Treasury has now revised the allocation down to Sh632.3 million from Sh702.3 million, just days before the end of the financial year.
The reduction is contained in the third supplementary budget for the 2024/25 financial year, tabled in Parliament, as the fiscal cycle draws to a close.
The budget review saw multiple cuts across government votes, although a few spending lines recorded marginal increases.
Nyakang’o has repeatedly lamented the effects of chronic underfunding on her office, saying it continues to undermine essential operations such as monitoring and evaluation, report writing, training, budget implementation forums, and local travel.
Stall operations
The latest cut comes just three months after Nyakang’o protested the proposed allocation of Sh850 million for her office in the 2025/26 financial year, against a budget request of Sh1.63 billion. She warned that the underfunding would stall operations.
“We have a lean budget and are only surviving because of keeping expenses at the bare minimum,” Nyakang’o told the Senate Finance and Budget Committee in March.
“We have been allocated less than 50 per cent of what we asked for. Achieving our targets will be tough.”
During the same Senate session, Nyakang’o revealed that her office had requested Sh182.8 million for career progression but received nothing. A Sh102 million request to develop legislative proposals aimed at strengthening the office’s mandate was also rejected.
Nyakang’o said a Sh50 million proposal for system automation, Sh24 million for staff training, and Sh15.3 million for foreign travel were all declined.
High staff turnover
“Since becoming COB six years ago, I have not travelled outside the country to learn best practices. My office has been experiencing high staff turnover, with seven workers leaving in the last six months due to poor pay,” she said.
The continued underfunding, she warned, was steadily crippling the institution’s ability to fulfil its constitutional mandate of overseeing public financial management at both national and county levels.
Treasury documents also indicate that the revised budget slashes Sh36.4 million from administrative support services and Sh33.6 million from county services.
