Kitui county overshot own source revenue target- report

Within the three months between October 1st, 2024 to December 31st ,2024 the county government of Kitui raked in Sh. 212.30 million substantially surpassing its set target of Sh.150 million.

In a budget implementation review report released by the Kitui County department for finance, economic planning and revenue management, the revenue realisation was rated at 141.53 per cent.

“The county exhibited an exceptional overall revenue realisation rate of 141.53 percent, collecting Sh. 212.30 million against a target of Sh. 150 million,” said the report from the department headed by CEC Peter Kilonzo.

The dossier added that the major contributors of the enhanced revenue level were the department of health and sanitation as well as that of water and irrigation.

The report that was shared by the County Assembly of Kitui on January 21 added that the two county departments realised over 200 per cent of their revenue collection target.

However, the departments of environment and energy besides that of  trade were fingered in the report as having underperformed in revenue mopping, pointing to disparities in revenue generation capacities.

“The uneven performance calls for sector-specific interventions to optimise collection efficiency,” pointed out the report that was seen by MWINGI TIMES.

The document revealed that the county government of Kitui cleared pending bills amounting to Sh. 1.29 billion in the second quarters of the fiscal year 2024/25.

The report however offered that Sh. 168.91 million pending bills were still outstanding.“Persitent pending liabilities risk undermining service delivery and supplier confidence,” noted the report.

On the matter of the exchequer's disbursement, the report pointed out that Kitui county government  only received Sh. 3.58 billion during the period under review although it  expected Sh. 6.341 billion.

The exchequer disbursement  short-fall, the report added, left Kitui  county government with an unplugged funding hole of  Sh. 2.761 billion.

“The lack of grants during the period further exacerbated financial constraints, negatively impacting the county’s ability to implement both recurrent and development programmes.

Nevertheless, the report observed that the development expenditure was significantly underutilised at an absorption rate of only 30 per cent.

Departments that lagged were agriculture, health and education, added the report.

“This underperformance reflects challenges in the procurement process, project management and financial disbursements,” the report read in part.