Policy Brief No. 7 of 2017-2018 Towards Strengthening Public Financial Management in County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) in collaboration with the World Bank undertook the first sub-national Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment in six selected County governments in Kenya, namely: Nakuru, Kajiado, Baringo, Makueni, West Pokot and Kakamega. The PEFA assessment framework is based on seven (7) pillars, namely: budget reliability; comprehensiveness and transparency; management of assets and liabilities; policy-based fiscal strategy and budgeting; predictability and control in budget execution; accounting and reporting; and external scrutiny and audit. The assessment was carried out for three fiscal years; that is, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years. The objective was to assess the Public Expenditure Management (PFM) systems rather than to evaluate and score the performance of specific County governments or individuals. The findings of the study provide a baseline of the current state of PFM within the counties and for the entire system, and indicates areas that require improvement...