Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma. Photo Courtesy 
By Andrew Mbuva
Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma has called for an urgent investigation into glaring inconsistencies between two supplementary budgets submitted by the County Government for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Mwaruma raised alarm over a sharp KSh 80.7 million reduction in funds meant for pending bills.
“In Supplementary Budget I, the county allocated KSh 360.7 million for settling pending bills. Then suddenly, in Budget II, this figure was slashed by KSh 80.7 million without any explanation,” he noted.
The senator urged the Senate’s Finance and Budget Committee to scrutinize the discrepancies and verify whether due process was followed during the approval of Supplementary Budget II.
“The public deserves to know if proper procedures were followed, and whether the Office of the Controller of Budget was involved in reviewing both budgets,” he emphasized.
Mwaruma is also demanding a clear breakdown of how the KSh 80.7 million was reallocated, warning that a lack of transparency erodes public trust in the county’s financial planning.
“We also need assurances that bursary payments will be honoured as allocated. Counties cannot ignore court rulings on disbursing approved funds,” he said.
The senator’s remarks come amid increasing public concern over budgetary accountability and the settlement of pending bills in devolved units, a key indicator of fiscal discipline and governance.
