Nyamira County has been barred from participating in a World Bank-funded climate programme after the National Treasury flagged concerns over the management of about Sh22 million.
The move comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Governor Amos Nyaribo, who is facing both political and corruption challenges.
In a letter dated December 15, 2025, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi noted that recent World Bank missions uncovered financial management irregularities that raised doubts roughly letter clarified that the suspension would continue until the county addressed the concerns and communicated the resolution to the National Treasury.
“In this regard, your county is hereby suspended from implementation of the FLLoCA Programme until the raised issues are cleared and communicated to the National Treasury,” the letter states.
The Treasury further cautioned that failure to fully account for the funds could require the county to return all monies to the donors.
“Failure to fully account for the monies would also mean that the devolved government refunds all the project monies to the funders,” the letter adds.
Governor Nyaribo, however, denied any mismanagement of funds. Speaking during the burial of his father-in-law, Samson Nyambane Omae, in Borabu Constituency on Saturday, he insisted the county had accounted for all monies and said the funding would be restored.
“It is not factual that we have failed to respond to the audit queries, but rather, the expected responses had already been submitted to the Auditor General and by the time the communication about the suspension was being effected to the county, the Auditor General was aware. We have accounted for the money to the last penny,” he said.
He defended cross-transactions as necessary to cover temporary funding gaps, noting that donor funds are allocated for specific projects while the county meets operational costs.
“Donor funds are meant for specific projects, and the county co-funds by meeting all operational costs. And if the county has a deficit in funding, such cross-transactions can be justified as a short-term measure pending replenishment of the specific funds account,” he explained.
Governor Nyaribo reiterated his focus on development, pledging to deliver on manifesto projects such as water supply, health facilities, and road construction in Esise Ward.
