NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 6 – Embu has been ranked Kenya’s best-performing county in the 2024/25 financial year, while Kisumu emerged as the worst performer, according to the Senate’s inaugural County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index (CFPMI), a new scorecard that exposes wide disparities in how county governments manage public finances.The report, launched on Thursday by the Senate, awarded Embu an overall CFPMI score of 0.689, taking the top position, followed by Narok and Wajir, thereby expanding the number of counties attaining the highest performance grade from two in the previous financial year to three.At the other end of the scale, Kisumu ranked last, highlighting persistent fiscal management challenges despite years of increased allocations to county governments.The report notes that the 2024/25 results reflect significant shifts in county fiscal performance compared to FY2023/24, with improvements in fiscal discipline in some counties and continued weaknesses in others.Overall, 35 counties attained a “C” grade, signalling gradual but positive progress in budget execution and fiscal management, although several counties remained constrained by structural, governance and resource management challenges.The County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index, developed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, measures counties using seven indicators: development expenditure, own-source revenue, expenditure on wages and benefits, pending bills, audit opinions, budget implementation and county assembly expenditure. The tool is intended to provide the Senate with an objective framework for monitoring county governments’ adherence to public finance management principles.Launching the report, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi described the index as a landmark publication that would fundamentally change how the House exercises oversight over county governments.“The County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index is much more than a publication. It is a practical, evidence-based instrument for assessing county governments’ adherence to the fiscal responsibility principles enshrined in the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act and the County Governments Act,” Kingi said.He said the Senate had for years lacked a scientific framework for measuring county performance, making oversight largely dependent on fragmented reports and political opinion.“The purpose is not to generate a league table or encourage unhealthy competition among counties. Rather, it is to identify good practices, highlight areas requiring improvement and provide an objective basis upon which we can determine whether public resources are translating into meaningful development for our people.”Kingi said the launch comes at a time when counties are receiving unprecedented funding from the National Government.He noted that the equitable share allocated to counties has risen from Sh370 billion in the 2022/23 financial year to Sh428 billion in 2026/27, saying increased funding must be matched by greater accountability.“Greater allocation of resources to counties must be accompanied by greater accountability. Every shilling allocated to county governments must be applied prudently, lawfully and for the benefit of the people,” he said.Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot said the report would shift debate on county performance from politics to facts.“This is pure science. It is not what Parliament has generated or what senators think about governors. It is based on data from independent constitutional institutions,” he said.Cheruiyot challenged senators to read the report before debating county governments, saying it raises “the quality of argument” in the House by relying on evidence rather than political affiliations.He also expressed concern over the low proportion of county resources going to development projects.“It should worry us as senators that only about half of the required development allocation is actually being spent. Ultimately, only about 15 per cent of county resources end up financing development projects. That should concern us because it directly affects service delivery.”Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo welcomed the publication, saying it would enrich the Senate’s constitutional oversight mandate.“Every assessment presents an opportunity to celebrate progress, identify areas requiring improvement and share best practices that can strengthen service delivery across all 47 counties.”Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye said the new index answers growing public demand for accountability over devolved resources.“Kenyans do not just want to know how much money counties receive. They want to know whether that money is building dispensaries, buying drugs, paying health workers and improving services. The CFPMI is our answer.”Nyegenye said the index relies on publicly available data from institutions including the Office of the Auditor-General, the Controller of Budget and the Commission on Revenue Allocation, making it an objective rather than opinion-based assessment.He said the scorecard would help the Senate strengthen oversight while encouraging counties to benchmark against one another and improve fiscal governance.The Parliamentary Budget Office said the index is expected to become an annual accountability tool, enabling the Senate to monitor county performance over time, identify policy gaps and promote prudent management of public resources as devolution enters its second decade.