Kisumu county gov't dismisses COB report on stalling allocation of development funds

Kisumu County Finance CEC George Okongo says the county has transferred a huge sum of money to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) after it was taken over by national government and there was need for funds.

In her report, COB Margaret Nyakang'o said that Kisumu was among the 19 counties that recorded no expenditure on development projects in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year (July-Sept 2025).

She flagged Kisumu for zero development expenditure in the period and noted its poor local revenue performance, while also showing the county had significant outstanding bank borrowings at the start of the 2025/2026 fiscal year. 

Okongo says the its the national government that requested for the funds amounting to Ksh.128 million to facilitate the timely payment of salaries for JOOTRH staff, as the National Treasury finalized the transfer of funds to the hospital.

He adds that the amount, which was originally appropriated for development expenditure in the first quarter, was thus extended as refundable credit to JOOTRH, arguing that no funds have been lost or misappropriated.

Okongo says JOOTRH has now received its allocation from the National Treasury and is currently processing the refund to the County Government of Kisumu and upon receipt, the refunded amount will be fully reallocated to development projects.