By Kepher Otieno - Senior journalist based in Kenya and a regular advocate for democracy and good governance.
"Clearing yesterday’s bills can be more valuable than announcing tomorrow’s project." - Kepher Otieno
Kenya’s county debt problem is becoming harder to ignore as the clock ticks towards the next General Elections.
Behind the roads, hospitals, markets and water projects lies another hefty balance sheet for the counties.
One filled with pending bills, court awards, penalties and accumulated liabilities.
For instance, Kisumu is now putting that problem under the spotlight.
The county’s debt has been put at about Sh6.5 billion.
A substantial portion is linked to court-related liabilities, according to county officials who spoke to us.
The number isn't sobering. It's huge.
The bigger story is what it says about devolution, mean to bring or decentralize services closer to the people.
Yet, today, Counties are increasingly becoming trapped between spending pressures and obligations inherited from past decisions.
Huge Courts awards are only one part of the problem facing the counties.
Contractual obligations, pending bills, stalled projects and other liabilities have quietly accumulated until they become a fiscal burden for the next administration.
That is why Kisumu’s debt debate, for instance , deserves to be viewed beyond the courtroom.
It is a warning about the cost of devolved government.
And it comes as Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o approaches the final stretch of his tenure.
Nyong’o has previously indicated that his administration wants to reduce the county’s debt substantially before leaving office, with the target of bringing the liability down to below Sh3.5 billion.
That target now carries considerable political and economic significance.
Reducing the debt by billions would give the next administration more fiscal room.
Failing to do so would leave the incoming government with less money and more obligations.
The distinction matters.
The truth is a county can have a large budget on paper and still have little money available for development.
Debt consumes flexibility.
Court awards consume hefty cash.
Pending bills tie up suppliers.
Accumulated obligations undermine confidence.
The consequences travel beyond government.
Businesses supplying counties depend on predictable payments.
Contractors need cash flow.
Small enterprises depend on county procurement and local economic activity.
When counties delay payments, the private sector absorbs part of the effects.
That makes county debt a business story.
Not merely an accounting story.
But Kisumu County is not alone.
Across Kenya, county governments continue to grapple with pending bills and accumulated liabilities.
The national debate over devolution increasingly includes a harder question: are counties spending within the resources they can sustainably manage?
The answer cannot simply be to increase allocations.
More money does not automatically cure weak financial controls.
Nor does austerity alone solve structural problems.
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Counties need stronger revenue collection.
They need realistic project planning and austerity measures.
And they need to stop creating obligations without secure funding.
Litigation deserves particular attention.
Every dispute that reaches court carries a potential financial cost.
A judgment can turn into a substantial liability.
Interest can accumulate.
Penalties can grow.
The public ultimately pays.
That does not mean successful litigants should be denied justice.
Nor should courts be pressured to decide cases in favour of governments.
Judicial independence is fundamental.
But county administrations must also ask why so many disputes arise in the first place.
Better contracts could prevent some.
Better documentation could prevent others.
Stronger internal legal advice could reduce exposure.
Better compliance could save millions.
This is where Nyong’o’s Sh6.5 billion debt target becomes more than a political promise.
It is a test of fiscal stewardship.
Can Kisumu reduce its inherited and accumulated liabilities while continuing to deliver services?
Can it pay legitimate debts without starving development?
Can it leave the next administration with a cleaner balance sheet?
Those questions will matter as much as new roads, buildings and other visible projects.
There is another uncomfortable reality.
Debt reduction is politically less glamorous than launching projects.
A new road is visible.
Paying an old liability is not.
Yet responsible government often means doing precisely that.
Clearing yesterday’s bills can be more valuable than announcing tomorrow’s project.
Kisumu’s experience should therefore trigger a wider county conversation.
Every governor eventually leaves office.
The liabilities do not necessarily leave with them.
They are inherited.
And so is the fiscal space—or lack of it.
If Nyong’o succeeds in pushing Kisumu’s debt below KSh 6.5 billion, he will leave behind more than a political legacy.
He will leave the next administration breathing room.
If the target is missed, the incoming team will inherit a different reality: a county with ambitions, but constrained by yesterday’s obligations.
That is the real lesson from the Sh6.5 billion debate it owes it's clients or service providers.
Devolution is not measured only by what counties build. It is also measured by what they can afford to leave behind. Which assets or development projects are they leaving behind as they exit office?
The writer is a senior journalist based in Kenya and a regular advocate for democracy and good governance. kepher43@gmail.com
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The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dawan Africa.
Opinion - The County Debt Crisis and Unending Legal Fees Impeding Development
Counties are increasingly becoming trapped between spending pressures and obligations inherited from past decisions.