ADVERT 
ADVERTThe County Government of Siaya has received a major governance boost after Transparency International recognized its Finance Act 2025 as the Most Comprehensive Finance Act 2025, praising the county’s efforts to strengthen fiscal transparency, citizen oversight and public participation in financial management.
The recognition came during a working visit by Transparency International representatives Paul Odongo and Charles Olwambo, who engaged the county administration on measures aimed at promoting integrity, accountability and openness in the management of public resources.
The award places Siaya among counties seeking to demonstrate that sound public finance management goes beyond compliance with statutory requirements to creating systems that enable citizens to understand, scrutinise and participate in decisions concerning public money.
The award was received on behalf of the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning by Geoffrey Odhiambo, Head of Treasury, who reaffirmed Siaya’s commitment to building a culture of proactive openness in public financial management.
Odhiambo said the county’s ambition was not merely to meet the minimum requirements of financial disclosure but to make transparency an integral part of governance.
ADVERTThe recognition follows what the county describes as sustained efforts to publish financial information in a timely manner, improve public access to budget documents and make public resource management easier for ordinary citizens to understand.
At the heart of the initiative is the belief that fiscal transparency is meaningful only when citizens can access information, interrogate government decisions and provide feedback on how public resources are allocated and spent.
Siaya has therefore pledged to maintain timely publication of key financial documents, including budget proposals, appropriation bills and budget execution reports, on the county’s official platforms.
The county also intends to strengthen accessibility of financial information for citizens, civil society organisations, development partners and oversight institutions, including the Office of the Auditor-General.
Equally important is the county’s commitment to meaningful public participation throughout the budget cycle. Rather than treating citizens as passive recipients of government programmes, Siaya says it wants residents to become active participants in determining priorities and holding public institutions to account.
The Transparency International recognition consequently presents more than an accolade for the county’s Treasury. It is a test of whether the systems and practices that earned the award can be sustained and translated into greater accountability in the management of taxpayers’ money.
For Siaya, the challenge now is to ensure that transparency remains consistent beyond the award ceremony and becomes deeply embedded in the county’s everyday financial operations.
The county government has thanked Transparency International, Odongo and Olwambo for the assessment, feedback and recognition, while expressing its intention to deepen collaboration with the anti-corruption organisation.
The partnership is expected to support continued efforts to strengthen good governance, promote citizen oversight, combat corruption and enhance public confidence in the management of county resources.
With counties across Kenya facing increasing scrutiny over budget execution, pending bills, procurement and service delivery, Siaya’s recognition offers an opportunity for the county to position itself as a benchmark for fiscal transparency and participatory governance.
The real measure of the award, however, will ultimately lie not in the certificate but in whether residents can consistently see, access and understand how their money is being raised, allocated and spent.
For now, the recognition gives Siaya’s public finance reform agenda a significant vote of confidence—and raises the bar for what citizens should expect from transparent county government.
