31/08/2026
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE REFERRAL OF THE MACHAKOS COUNTY APPROPRIATION BILL, 2026.
In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Section 24(2)(b) of the
County Governments Act, 2012, I have officially referred the Machakos
County Appropriation Bill, 2026 back to the County Assembly of Machakos
for reconsideration.
This decision was not made lightly. However, as the custodian of executive
authority in this county, I cannot in good conscience sign into law a
legislation that openly violates statutory limits, dismantles essential public
services, undermines our financial foundation, and directly imperils the
lives and livelihoods of our people.
Section 24(1) of the County Governments Act requires the Speaker of the
County Assembly to forward a passed Bill to the Governor within 14 days.
The County Assembly passed this Bill on August 18, 2026, and it was
presented to my office for assent on August 21, 2026
When the Bill finally arrived, a detailed review revealed that the County
Assembly had engaged in unlawful budget interference. The Executive
submitted balanced Budget Estimates for the 2026/2027 Financial Year
totaling Kshs 17.797 billion, as informed by the ceilings agreed upon in
the 2026 County Fiscal Strategy Paper (CFSP).
Instead of passing this balanced budget, the County Assembly drastically
altered items totaling Kshs 853.96 million, stripping funds from binding
contracts, essential services, and welfare programs to reallocate them
elsewhere.
The amount deducted is as follows;
Sports – Governors Cup
Amount Submitted: KSh 50,643,217
Amount Reduced: KSh 40,000,000
Balance: KSh 10,643,217
Education – Bursaries
Amount Submitted: KSh 121,794,404
Amount Reduced: KSh 30,000,000
Balance: KSh 91,794,404
Education – Machakos Youth Services
Amount Submitted: KSh 175,862,770
Amount Reduced: KSh 175,862,770
Balance: KSh 0
Lands – Municipalities (Machakos, Mavoko & Kangundo-Tala )
Amount Submitted: KSh 78,320,914.50
Amount Reduced: KSh 78,320,914.50
Balance: KSh 0
County Administration – Sub-County Offices & Overall Coordination
Amount Submitted: KSh 112,737,772
Amount Reduced: KSh 97,000,000
Balance: KSh 15,737,772
Public Communication- Coordination communication department Publishing
and Purchase of Equipment
Amount Submitted: KSh 116,487,361
Amount Reduced: KSh 40,500,000
Balance/Approved Amount: KSh 75,987,361
Revenue – Revenue Management
Amount Submitted: KSh 126,895,321
Amount Reduced: KSh 126,895,321
Balance: KSh 0
Gender & Social Welfare – Wikwatyo Fund
Amount Submitted: KSh 137,000,000
Amount Reduced: KSh 100,000,000
Balance: KSh 37,000,000
Gender & Social Welfare – Empowerment of Women, Youth & Special Groups
Amount Submitted: KSh 137,000,000
Amount Reduced: KSh 100,000,000
Balance: KSh 37,000,000
Roads – Major Roads
Amount Submitted: KSh 396,640,573
Amount Reduced: KSh 65,380,000
Balance: KSh 331,260,573
Fellow Machakos Residents,
Regulation 37(1) of the Public Finance Management (County
Governments) Regulations, 2015 provides a clear legal safeguard that any
increase or reduction made by a County Assembly to an annual budget
vote ceiling must not exceed one per cent (1%) of that vote's approved
ceiling.
The law does not allow County Assembly to arbitrarily rewrite budget
ceilings. Notably, the County Assembly increased its own development
budget by Kshs 130 million above its agreed CFSP ceiling, extracting these
funds directly from executive public delivery programs. This violates
Section 129 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.¬
Fellow Machakos Residents;
To understand why I have taken this stand, the public must understand
what these assembly cuts mean in practice for everyday life in Machakos.
1. Threatening Infrastructure and Exposing the County to Legal Liability
The Executive allocated Kshs 396.64 million to complete ongoing
tarmacking of major arterial roads: the Katangi–Kithimani Road, the
Mlolongo Phase 3–Gossip Road, and the Lita–Miti Muonza Road. These
projects are actively under construction with awarded contracts.
The Assembly slashed Kshs 65.38 million from these contracted works.
Under Kenyan law, a county government cannot appropriate less than what
is required to satisfy existing contractual commitments. Gutting this
allocation forces work to stall, exposes the county to heavy breach-ofcontract lawsuits, interest charges, and idle-plant costs, and leaves
partially completed roads to deteriorate in the rain, wasting millions in
taxpayers' money already spent.
2. Gutting Solid Waste Management: A Public Health Crisis
The Assembly completely eliminated the Kshs 78.32 million allocated
under Contracted Professional Services for garbage collection across our
three core urban centers: Machakos, Mavoko, and Kangundo-Tala
Municipalities.
Where did this money go? The Assembly redirected the entire sum toward
internal administrative overheads, including board allowances, committee
conferences, seminars, fuel, and vehicle maintenance.
This decision strips refuse removal from our densest settlements,
including Mlolongo, Athi River, Machakos Town, and Tala. Uncollected
garbage in streets and markets poses an immediate risk of cholera,
typhoid, and water contamination, violating our constitutional duty under
Articles 42 and 43 to maintain a clean and healthy environment.
Furthermore, residents and businesses in these municipalities pay their
Refuse and Conservancy Fees reliably, collecting at 135% of target in the
year ending June 2026 alone. To collect fees while defunding the service is
a betrayal of public trust.
3. Sabotaging Revenue System and Threatening County Financing
The Assembly completely deleted the Kshs 126.90 million allocated to
maintain the Integrated County Revenue Management System. This
system is the backbone of our financial independence. Before its
deployment, our own-source revenue (OSR) stood at Kshs 1.55 billion in
FY 2023/2024. Following its implementation in August 2024, collections
rose to Kshs 2.18 billion in FY 2024/2025 (a 39.7% increase) and reached
Kshs 3.352 billion in FY 2025/2026 (a 53.8% increase).
The 2026/2027 budget relies on a projected own-source revenue target of
Kshs 4.93 billion. Defunding the very digital system that collects this
revenue guarantees revenue shortfalls that will bankrupt every other
program in the county.
4. Abandoning Vulnerable Groups, Women, and School Children
The Executive budgeted funds to support vulnerable populations under the
Machakos County Senior Citizens Act, the Machakos Youth Empowerment
Act, and the Bursary Fund Regulations. The Assembly slashed Kshs 230
million from these social safety nets:
Wikwatyo Fund: Reduced by Kshs 100 million (from Kshs 137
million down to Kshs 37 million).
Empowerment of Women, Youth, and Special Groups: Slashed by
Kshs 100 million (from Kshs 137 million down to Kshs 37 million).¬
County Bursary Fund: Slashed by Kshs 30 million (from Kshs 121.79
million down to Kshs 91.79 million).
Stripping Kshs 30 million from school bursaries directly sends bright,
needy children home for lack of fees. Reducing funds for elderly citizens,
persons with disabilities, and women in the informal economy violates
Article 201(b)(i) of the Constitution, which demands equitable
development and protection for marginalized groups.
5. Killing Sub-County Grassroots Administration
To bring government services to the people, Section 48 of the County
Governments Act establishes decentralized Sub-County Administrative
Units. The Executive allocated approximately Ksh. 10.46 million to
Machakos Sub-County and Kshs 10.23 million to each of the other eight
sub-counties for grassroots administration, public participation, and
service coordination.
The Assembly cut each sub-county's budget by Kshs 9.67 million. This
leaves eight sub-counties with barely Kshs 565,048 each for an entire
financial year; roughly Kshs 47,000 per month to run an administrative unit
serving hundreds of thousands of citizens. Disabling grassroots
administration makes it impossible to supervise local health centers,
inspect public works, or hold public participation forums, neutralizing the
primary objective of devolution.
The Assault on the Youth of Machakos County
Beyond individual departmental cuts, the cumulative impact of these
amendments constitutes a direct assault on the youth of Machakos. Under
the Machakos Youth Empowerment Act, 2022, the Executive introduced
the Machakos Youth Service to deliver vocational skills, technical training,
and youth employment. The Executive allocated Kshs 175.86 million to keep this program fully operational.
The Assembly wiped out the entire Machakos Youth Service budget line
item by line item, reducing every single vote to zero.
By reducing Kshs 175.86 million to zero while simultaneously cutting youth
empowerment transfers by Kshs 100 million and bursaries by Kshs 30
million, the Assembly has effectively turned its back on the youth of this
county.
Fellow Machakos County Residents;
Public finance management is governed by law, institutional accountability,
and fidelity to the citizens we serve. The Assembly's amendments do not
represent legislative oversight; they constitute an unauthorized effort to
divert funds from vital public services to non-essential administrative line
items and Assembly development projects.
Section 24 of the County Governments Act provides clear procedures for
resolving this memorandum. Should Members of the County Assembly
choose to re-approve the Bill without incorporating these recommendations, the law requires a two-thirds majority of all members.
Let me be clear: Any public officer or Member of the County Assembly who
votes to maintain these unlawful variances will assume personal legal
liability under public finance management laws for any loss, illegal
expenditure or contractual damages suffered by the County Government.
I call upon the Leadership and Members of the County Assembly of
Machakos to reconsider the Machakos County Appropriation Bill, 2026,
and pass a budget that serves all residents of Machakos.
Thank you, and may God bless Machakos County.
H.E Wavinya Ndeti, EGH;
Governor, Machakos County
August 29, 2026.
