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Several counties are still pouring millions into rent for governors, deputies, and speakers, ignoring clear directives from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Three years past the SRC’s deadline, many projects intended to build official residences remain stalled or have yet to begin.
Back in March 2013, the SRC called for the provision of official homes for high-ranking officials, such as the President, Chief Justice, Governors, and Speakers of both National and County Assemblies. By 2015, the SRC also capped the rent for Speaker’s residences at Sh150,000 per month for major counties, such as Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu, and Sh75,000 for others.
Despite these measures, the SRC had mandated that counties construct homes for their Governors, Deputy Governors, and Speakers, a move aimed at reducing costly rental expenses. In 2019, the deadline was extended until June 30, 2022, to give counties more time to secure funding and prioritise construction. The homes were to be built on county-owned land, with the Governor’s residence set to occupy two acres, while the Deputy Governor and Speaker would each have one acre.
The cost for these homes was capped at Sh45 million for the Governor, Sh40 million for the Deputy Governor, and Sh35 million for the Speaker. To ensure progress, the SRC instructed counties to report the status of these projects every six months. Yet, despite the clear guidelines, many counties are still stuck paying rent rather than moving forward with the promised developments.
On August 14, 2020, the SRC reiterated in a circular that the June 30, 2022 deadline for leasing houses was firm, urging counties to accelerate construction by allocating funds and prioritising these projects. Despite this directive, however, many county governments and assemblies have not adhered to the SRC’s guidelines, and construction delays have continued.
Over the years, the Auditor General has raised concerns about the ongoing expenditure on rent by counties. Several audits have revealed delays and lack of progress in the construction of these official residences.
Kwale County’s 2023/2024 audit report, for example, highlighted that millions of shillings had been spent on an incomplete Governor’s residence. The county had entered into a contract in April 2018 for the construction of the residence for Sh149.4 million, with completion originally scheduled for April 2019. The deadline was later extended to August 2019, with an additional Sh34.4 million allocated for the project. However, the estimated cost exceeded the SRC ceiling by more than Sh104 million.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu noted that the County unsuccessfully sought approval for ratification of the exceeded budget ceiling from SRC on November 28, 2019, citing that the contract had been entered into before the SRC guidelines.
The County issued a notice of termination of contract on November 23, 2021, indicating that despite having prolonged the contract period to January 28, 2022, the ongoing works on the site were too slow and that the contract bond had expired.
Similarly, Tana River County has faced delays in constructing the Deputy Governor’s residence, with a reported Sh39.8 million spent on the project, though physical verification in October 2024 revealed that the contractor was absent from the site.
In Lamu County, Sh13.5 million has been paid to a construction company for the Governor’s residence, yet the project remains incomplete. Bomet County has also experienced delays, with the construction of the Governor’s residence abandoned despite the county having committed Sh78 million for the project.
In Marsabit County, the Assembly continued to pay a rental allowance to the Speaker despite the expiration of the SRC deadline for leasing.
Kericho County’s Speaker’s residence project has also stalled, with six extensions to the original completion date and a failure to prepare monthly progress reports, contrary to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Regulations, 2020.
Furthermore, the Speaker’s residence in Bomet County and Kisii County remains incomplete despite significant expenditure.
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