The Controller of Budget’s FY 2025/26 implementation review recorded that county assemblies collectively spent Sh98.88 million on foreign travel, while county executives’ foreign‑travel outlay was Sh2.89 million.

County executives travelled to a range of destinations, including Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Turkey, Geneva, Malaysia, Switzerland, London and Tanzania, with Nairobi’s executive alone spending Sh164.93 million on foreign trips.

Mombasa’s county executive allocated Sh65.27 million for foreign travel and Sh201.10 million for domestic travel, visiting Dubai, Ghana, Korea, Turkey, the United States, South Africa, Malaysia and Denmark.

Kisumu’s executive spent Sh31.02 million on overseas trips, sending delegations to New York, Accra, Spain, Algeria, Washington DC, Berlin, Portugal, South Korea, Kampala and Morocco.

Lamu County Assembly’s foreign‑travel bill reached Sh98.88 million, including a Sh21.25 million leadership‑training trip to Dubai for 21 officers in November 2025 and a Sh19.24 million organisational‑change course for 19 officers in January 2026.

Other assemblies reported notable overseas expenditures: Nyeri spent Sh105.63 million, Meru Sh86.47 million, Nakuru S85.41 million, Kiambu S66.34 million, Kitui S59.26 million and Machakos S53.66 million on foreign trips.

Domestic travel by assemblies and executives together amounted to Sh139.83 million, with the County Assembly accounting for Sh65.14 million and the County Executive for Sh74.70 million.

Overall county spending for the year was Sh496.58 billion, comprising Sh369.89 billion on recurrent activities and Sh126.69 billion on development projects, reflecting a 76.60 percent budget absorption rate, down from 78.24 percent the previous year.

County governments also allocated Sh1.61 billion for sitting allowances, covering 88.90 percent of the approved budget, underscoring the scale of recurring personnel costs alongside travel spending.

Amid these expenditures, counties faced outstanding trade payables of Sh172.53 billion as of 30 June 2026, highlighting fiscal pressures while officials continued overseas engagements.