A major showdown is looming between the Senate and the Council of Governors after four counties openly defied a Treasury directive to adopt a new, transparent accounting system. The rebellion by Tana River, Trans Nzoia, Busia, and Elgeyo Marakwet is raising serious red flags about what they are trying to hide.

The standoff emerged during a tense session of the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) in Mombasa yesterday. The Auditor General revealed that while the rest of the country has transitioned to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) accrual basis—a system designed to track every shilling in real-time—these four counties have stubbornly clung to the opaque cash-based system.

Following the Money Trail

The difference is not merely technical; it is the difference between accountability and theft. Under the old cash-based system, pending bills and liabilities can be easily hidden off the books, allowing rogue officials to commission "ghost projects" without immediate financial scrutiny. The new accrual system records a liability the moment a contract is signed, making it impossible to hide debt.

"This is not ignorance; this is deliberate sabotage," declared a furious Senator Edwin Sifuna during the committee hearing. "By refusing to migrate to the new platform, these governors are effectively operating a black box. They want to commit the county to billions in debt without the oversight bodies seeing it until it is too late."

• The Compliance Gap: The Auditor General noted that 43 counties have successfully constituted their "Transition to Accrual Accounting Committees." The refusal of the four outliers is being viewed as a calculated move to evade the spotlight during the 2024/2025 financial audit, a pivotal period for the new standards.
• The Threat of Sanctions: The Senate has threatened to withhold funds. "If you cannot account for the money using the legal standards, then you should not receive the money," argued Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua. The Controller of Budget may be instructed to freeze requisitions for the defiance.

The "Pending Bills" Black Hole

The defiance comes against a backdrop of a national crisis in pending bills, now estimated to be over KES 160 billion. The accrual system was the state's silver bullet to stop this accumulation. By resisting it, the four counties are essentially fighting for the right to remain unaccountable. As the Treasury prepares to crack the whip, the residents of these counties must ask: why are their leaders so afraid of a system that simply counts the truth?