County Budget Implementation Review Report: Fourth Quarter FY 2013/2014

Publisher	Controller of Budget, Kenya
Year of Publication	2013
Category	Report Budget & Fiscal Plans
County	All/General
Description	The Office of Controller of Budget (OCOB) is an independent office, established by Article 228 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Pursuant to Article 228 (4) of the Constitution, the office is mandated to oversee the implementation of the budgets of both levels of government, which entails regular monitoring and evaluation of government programmes and projects, with the approved budgets as the yardstick. In addition, this Office is mandated to prepare quarterly, annual and special reports on budget implementation and submit to the legislature and executive on budget implementation matters of national and county governments as provided in Article 228 (6) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Pursuant to the above constitutional mandates, the OCOB has prepared this consolidated report on the 47 counties. This report therefore highlights the performance on budget implementation; challenges and recommendations. It covers budget implementation by the 47 County Governments for the period, March to June 2013. This period was mainly a transition phase where the counties were expected to put up structures for the devolved governance system. The report therefore seeks to objectively review and discuss budget implementation across counties, to ensure adherence to chapter 12 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. The Constitution outlines principles of public finance which include: openness, accountability and clear fiscal reporting among others. In line with PFM Act, 2012, all funds should be appropriated by the County Assembly and the County Executive should ensure adherence to fiscal responsibility in expending the same. In light of the aforementioned, this report endeavours to highlight issues on county revenues, expenditures and the general performance of the counties. Generally, the counties operated in a stable macroeconomic environment. In the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) quarterly report, the countrys economic outlook showed signs of improvement as it grew by 5.2 per cent during the period January to March 2013 compared to 3.9 per cent realized in the same period in the last financial year. This growth was attributed to peaceful elections conducted under the new Constitution and favourable weather conditions that resulted to better performance in the agricultural sector. According to data released by KNBS in June 2013, the overall inflation stood at 4.36 per cent in the period March to June 2013 compared to 11.78 per cent recorded in the same period last year. This was associated to tightening of monetary policies and continued political stability coupled with favourable weather conditions. As stipulated in the Budget Policy Statement, 2012, the target for overall inflation was set at 5 per cent which was achieved in the medium term. Furthermore, the Kenyan Shilling exchange rate has remained relatively stable against world major currencies in the period under review. The stable national macroeconomic parameters meant stable operating economic environment at the County level.
Tags	Public Finance
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