The Judiciary failed to spend Sh520.4 million of development cash during the financial year ended June 2024, citing internal capacity challenges like delayed procurement processes and hold-ups in certification of works.
The latest report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu notes that contractors also failed to resume work on projects due to rising costs, resulting in a 33 percent underutilisation of the Sh1.45 billion allocation for development.
Ms Gathungu further writes that the Judiciary did not present any evidence that it has plans to build capacity to address the cited challenges. The Auditor publishes an annual review of key issues in public institutions.
“The statement of comparison of budget and actual amounts for development funds reflects the final budget of Sh1.45 billion and an actual expenditure of Sh929.56 million, resulting in under-utilisation by Sh520.4 million, or 33 percent of the budget,” wrote Ms Gathungu.
“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of the Judiciary’s programme aimed at providing critical infrastructure for social transformation through enhanced access to justice may be delayed.”
The under-utilisation came at a time the Judiciary decried a funding shortage from the Exchequer, which it said was less than half of its annual resource requirements, warning of a cash crunch that it said would derail the effective administration of justice.
The funding shortfall, it said last year, had affected the construction of offices and courts, facilitation of benches and service weeks, making operational the small claims courts and sustenance of the pro bono scheme.
“This shortfall has grossly affected the implementation of critical programmes such as operationalisation of new courts. Out of 22 court stations gazetted in the last medium term expenditure frameworks, only six have been operationalised,” the judiciary said at the time.
Among the programmes the Judiciary had lined up for the period under review were the construction of a new Supreme Court building, a new Court of Appeal Complex and 15 magistrates’ court buildings.
It also targeted to establish 20 small claims courts and set up four tribunals’ sub-registries.
In June last year, Parliament allocated Sh1.2 billion to the Judiciary for the purchase of a building in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area, in a bid to ease pressure for office space and judge chambers amid a sustained growth in the number of judges.
