Policy Brief No. 72 of 2018-2019 on An Assessment of the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability in Baringo County

Abstract

The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment was carried out in the County of Baringo and five other counties, namely: Nakuru, Kajiado, Makueni, West Pokot and Kakamega. The exercise, which was undertaken by KIPPRA in conjunction with the World Bank (Kenya Office) in 2017, was the first sub-national PEFA assessment in Kenya following the devolved system of government. The rationale for the PEFA assessment is to provide a clear and deeper understanding about the functioning of the public finance management (PFM) system and the organizational aspects of existing institutions at county level. The main objectives of the assessment include: i) assess the state of financial management capacity in the county government; ii) identify gaps in terms of capacity, systems, policies and processes in PFM; iii) provide a basis for PFM reforms; and iv) facilitate and develop a self-assessment capacity at the county level. The users of PEFA include the private sector, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations and international development institutions. The PEFA scores and reports allow all users of the information to gain a quick overview on the strengths and weaknesses of the county's PFM systems. The importance of PEFA is to facilitate in the attainment of fiscal discipline, strategic resource allocation, and efficient service delivery. The assessment covered a period of three (3) fiscal years, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16. It focused on seven (7) key pillars of the PEFA framework, namely: (i) budget reliability; (ii) comprehensiveness and transparency; (iii) management of assets and liabilities; (iv) policy-based fiscal strategy and budgeting; (v) predictability and control in budget execution; (vi) accounting and reporting; and (vii) external scrutiny and audit.