At least 10 counties bore the heaviest brunt of procurement disruptions caused by a troubled shift to the electronic government procurement system (e-GP), cutting their development spend by Sh1.7 billion over three months to September.
The counties spent Sh867.7 million to fund projects, between July and September, compared to Sh2.58 billion during a similar period last year, according to disclosures by the Controller of Budget (CoB).
The Sh1.7 billion drop in their development spend was 56.6 percent of the overall reduction in development spending across all counties, underlining the heavy burden the 10 counties bore during the three months.
The CoB blames delays caused by the roll-out of e-GP for public procurement for poor development spending during the three months, as the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) calls for a phased implementation of the system to avert more disruptions.
The counties CoB Margaret Nyakang’o says have been affected by the e-GP roll-out are Kirinyaga, Kisumu, Garissa, Kiambu, Marsabit, Migori, Narok, Samburu, Turkana, and Vihiga.
“During the review period, the county reported spending Sh83.91 million on development programmes, representing an 82 percent decrease compared to the financial year 2024/25, when the County spent Sh477.28 million,” CoB Nyakang’o said of Narok County, which had the biggest drop in absolute terms.
“The decline in development expenditure resulted from the National Treasury’s directive that all procurement processes be undertaken through the e-GP system,” she said.
Also, Turkana did not spend a shilling on development during the time, compared to a spending of Sh320.4 million over a similar period last year. This happened as the county reported having 19 stalled projects with an estimated value of Sh268 million by the end of September.
“The decline in development expenditure was attributed to challenges with the new procurement system being introduced in the current financial year,” the CoB said.
In Kiambu, the county spent just above half (51.5 percent) of the Sh401.05 million put into projects between July and September 2024. The e-GP “halted implementation of the procurement plan”, it was reported.
The government introduced the e-GP in July, aiming to establish an end-to-end procurement system where all public entities would handle procurement processes on a digital platform, from uploading budgets and procurement plans, to processing payments to contractors and suppliers.
The e-GP has, however, been accused of disrupting procurements across national and county governments. Governors have, on a number of occasions, blamed it for affecting procurements of crucial items such as medical supplies since July.
The PBO has also called for a phased implementation of the e-GP system, noting that it has caused disruptions since its roll-out started.
The PBO observes that uncertainties relating to the e-GP is delaying procurement processes across goods, works, and services in public entities.
“To address the challenges, there is a need to consider a phased implementation of the e-GP system to ensure service delivery is not halted by the technicalities that may be experienced,” the PBO says.
The government hopes that by fully introducing e-GP to handle public procurements, it will enhance transparency in procurement processes, reduce opportunities for corruption and mis-procurement, and standardise procurement across counties and national government entities.
In Bomet County, the CoB also reported that spending on salaries and allowances declined from Sh606.7 million between July and September 2024 to Sh361.6 million this year, with the decrease attributed to delays in budget uploading and procurement upload challenges posed by the e-GP.
Dr Nyakang’o also noted that the Garissa County government has had squabbles with the Treasury over the e-GP, leading to a prolonged legal battle currently before the court, and which has halted county operations.
“In the review period, the county reported spending Sh155.61 million on development programmes, representing a decrease of 64 percent compared to financial year 2024/25, when it spent Sh428.61 million,” said CoB.
Overall, development spending for all 47 county governments amounted to Sh3.69 billion during the three months ending September 2025, compared to Sh6.71 billion during a similar period last year.
The development spend during the first quarter of the current fiscal year was a mere 2 percent of the annual development budget of Sh220.46 billion, marking a shortfall estimated at Sh51 billion.
During the three months, 20 counties did not spend anything on development. They included Kericho, Mombasa, Uasin Gishu, Baringo, and Kajiado.
