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Tensions surrounding public financial management have heightened following disclosures by Controller of Budget Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o regarding the limited oversight of specific government revenue streams.
The administrative financial guardian revealed that multi-billion-shilling pools collected through special levies and dedicated accounts remain entirely outside her constitutional monitoring scope.
Nyakang’o explained that her mandate under Article 228 of the Constitution restricts her authorization powers strictly to funds held within the Consolidated Fund.
Because various special levies, off-budget accounts, and direct external loans are bypassed and managed directly by administrative bodies without entering the primary treasury pool, her office lacks line-item visibility over their accumulation and disbursement.
Consequently, these financial allocations bypass the mandatory quarterly oversight mechanisms designed to safeguard public resources.
The revelations have fueled intense criticism from governance experts, transparency advocates, and opposition lawmakers who argue that the structure enables parallel spending mechanisms resistant to public scrutiny.
Concerns are rising that the proliferation of off-budget levies creates significant fiscal risks, compounding public debt and obscuring the actual state of national expenditure.
Legal scholars and parliamentary oversight committees are now urging immediate statutory reforms to amend the Public Finance Management Act.
The proposed legislative adjustments aim to compel all state-collected levies, special funds, and public resources to route directly through the Consolidated Fund.
Lawmakers emphasize that granting the Controller of Budget full operational visibility over every public coin is essential to restoring public trust, enforcing fiscal discipline, and eliminating systemic loopholes in government spending.
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