Tana River Senator Hon. Dr. Danson Mungatana, MP, MGH, PhD, has raised serious questions over two government reports that paint starkly different pictures of Tana River County’s fiscal management one placing it in the top ten best performers, and the other ranking it among the bottom ten.
Addressing the discrepancy during the official launch of the County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index (CFPMI), where he joined the Speaker of the Senate and fellow lawmakers, Senator Mungatana explained that the conflicting rankings stem from differing evaluation methodologies and indicator weightings.
The Controller of Budget report, which placed Tana River among the bottom ten counties, evaluated performance based on four equally weighted indicators: high audit queries, low development spending, weak service delivery, and high poverty levels.
In contrast, the County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index (CFPMI), which placed Tana River in the top ten, uses a broader formula evaluating seven differently weighted parameters: budget implementation, development expenditure, own-source revenue generation, pending obligations, County Assembly expenditure ceiling, audit outcomes, and expenditure on wages.
Despite the favorable CFPMI ranking, Senator Mungatana cautioned against relying on weighted indices over ground realities, calling it “ridiculous” to prioritize the CFPMI metrics over the Controller of Budget’s findings.
He pointed to key financial indicators that highlight deep governance challenges in the county, including three consecutive years of Adverse Opinions from the Auditor General, Ksh 3.48 billion in unresolved audit queries, 42% of allocated funds left unspent, and a 59.5% poverty rate across the county.
He emphasized that numbers tell a story, but the story of Tana River County is a sad one, asserting that it is ridiculous to use the County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index as opposed to the raw reality outlined by the Controller of Budget.
Looking ahead to the exit of the incumbent governor next year, Senator Mungatana urged the electorate and leadership stakeholders to refocus the county’s political priorities away from ethnic politics and toward accountable management of public resources.
He stressed that as leadership changes, voters must ask a crucial question: “Which potential governor has a well-articulated plan and is clear on how to execute it?” rather than relying on traditional questions regarding tribal affiliation.
