Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has returned the county’s KSh17.797 billion 2026/27 Appropriation Bill to the County Assembly, opening a fresh battle over how billions of shillings will be spent across the county.
Governor Ndeti referred the Bill back to the Assembly on Monday, August 31, after rejecting amendments she says shifted KSh853.96 million away from programmes, services and projects contained in the Executive’s original spending plan.
The Governor’s decision means the county’s 2026/27 budget remains unsettled weeks after MCAs approved the spending plan on August 18 and presented it to her for assent on August 21.
At the heart of the dispute is not only the size of the budget, but where the money should go.
What the Assembly changed
According to Ndeti, the Assembly made major reductions to several programmes while reallocating funds elsewhere.
The changes cited by the Governor include the removal of the entire KSh175.86 million allocation for the Machakos Youth Service.
Funding for the county’s Revenue Management System, which Ndeti says is central to the collection of own-source revenue, was also reduced by KSh126.9 million, effectively taking the allocation to zero.
Other significant reductions included:
- KSh97 million cut from funding for sub-county offices;
- KSh78.3 million removed from garbage collection programmes in Machakos, Mavoko and Kangundo-Tala municipalities;
- KSh40 million cut from the Governor’s Cup allocation;
- KSh30 million removed from bursary funding; and
- reductions to several road projects that the Governor says are already under contract.
The Assembly also reduced funding for the Wikwatyo Fund and women and youth empowerment programmes from KSh274 million to KSh74 million, according to the Governor’s account.
Why Wavinya is objecting
Governor Ndeti says the amendments go beyond the Assembly’s powers under public finance rules.
She cited Regulation 37(1) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015, arguing that county assemblies cannot increase or reduce a vote ceiling beyond the prescribed limit.
She also accused the Assembly of increasing its own development budget by KSh130 million above the ceiling contained in the County Fiscal Strategy Paper.
The Governor has therefore referred the Bill back for reconsideration under Section 24(2)(b) of the County Governments Act, 2012.
The allegations, however, are the Governor’s interpretation of the Assembly’s amendments. The Assembly’s response and justification for the changes remain important to establishing the other side of the dispute.
Why the cuts matter to residents
Beyond the political confrontation between the Executive and the Assembly, some of the disputed allocations directly affect services residents interact with every day.
The proposed reduction in garbage collection funding, for example, affects three of the county’s major urban centres — Machakos, Mavoko and Kangundo-Tala.
Ndeti warned that removing the allocation could undermine waste management and expose residents to public-health risks.
The dispute over the Revenue Management System could also have longer-term consequences.
According to the Governor, Machakos’ own-source revenue increased from KSh1.55 billion in 2023/24 to KSh3.35 billion in 2025/26, while the county has set a target of KSh4.93 billion for 2026/27.
Ndeti argues that reducing funding for the revenue system could make that target harder to achieve.
Roads and ongoing projects
The Governor has also raised concerns over reductions affecting roads already under contract.
She cited projects including Katangi-Kithimani Road, Mlolongo Phase 3-Gossip Road and Lita-Miti Muonza Road, arguing that cutting their allocations could delay implementation and expose the county to contractual disputes.
This makes the budget row more than a disagreement over figures on paper: the outcome could determine whether some projects continue at their planned pace during the financial year.
A dispute that has been building
The latest confrontation follows an extended disagreement between the two arms of the county government over the 2026/27 budget.
Earlier in August, the Assembly authorized the withdrawal of 50 per cent of the proposed KSh17.8 billion budget, equivalent to roughly KSh8.9 billion, to enable county operations to continue during the standoff.
The latest referral therefore does not end the dispute.
Instead, the Appropriation Bill now returns to the Assembly for reconsideration, putting MCAs and the Executive back at the negotiating table over the disputed allocations.
For residents, the immediate question is no longer simply whether Machakos has a KSh17.8 billion budget.
It is which programmes will ultimately receive the money — and what will be delivered with it.
County Guardian will continue following the budget dispute as the Assembly considers the Governor’s objections.
