Nairobi County hits record Ksh.13.8B in own revenue

Nairobi City County has recorded its highest revenue collection since the onset of devolution, reaching KSh 13.7 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year.

This marks a notable increase from last year’s KSh 12.8 billion—an additional KSh 1 billion—highlighting the success of ongoing reforms and intensified revenue collection efforts.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja acknowledged the achievement despite recent political unrest in the city.

“KSh 13.7 billion is a record since devolution. It's up from last year’s KSh 12.8 billion—a strong KSh 1 billion increase. With this momentum, we can aim even higher. It’s possible when we all play our part as government and as citizens,” said Sakaja.

County Receiver of Revenue, Tiras Njoroge, attributed the growth to aggressive collection drives and enforcement measures, particularly targeting land rate and rent defaulters.

“Under Governor Sakaja’s leadership, our revenue collection efforts are delivering results. We cannot have a city of millions sustained by just a few contributors. Everyone must take responsibility. We’re continuing enforcement on land rates, unified business permits (UBP), Nairobi Pay, house rents, and more,” Njoroge said.

The Housing Department also reported a significant rise in house rent collections, reaching KSh 800 million in the 2024/2025 financial year—the highest in over a decade. Housing Chief Officer Lydia Mathia noted this was a sharp increase from KSh 500 million in 2023/2024 and nearly double the KSh 439 million collected in 2021/2022.

She attributed the spike to enhanced enforcement, digital rent tracking, and recovery campaigns, which peaked in May 2025 when the county collected a record KSh 200 million in a single month.

The revenue announcement comes just days after Finance and Economic Planning CEC Charles Kerich tabled a KSh 44.6 billion budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.

The budget allocates KSh 31.2 billion to recurrent expenditure and KSh 13.4 billion to development, meeting the constitutional requirement for counties to dedicate at least 30% of their budgets to development, as outlined in the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

“In the health sector, KSh 849 million has been set aside for the construction, rehabilitation, and equipping of health centers, including the procurement of essential supplements and vitamins,” said Kerich.

An additional KSh 400 million will go toward supplying county hospitals with non-pharmaceutical essentials to ensure smooth operations and the continued availability of basic medical items.

Kerich added that infrastructure development remains a priority, with major upgrades and expansions planned for key hospitals, including Pumwani Maternity and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. The improvements will include the installation of modern diagnostic tools and the revamp of the county’s health data systems.

The county’s school feeding programme—a flagship initiative under Governor Sakaja—has been allocated KSh 700 million. While slightly lower than last year’s KSh 800 million, the funding is expected to sustain operations. The county constructed over 10 modern kitchens last year to support the programme, which has improved both nutrition and attendance in public schools.

For education support, KSh 857 million has been allocated for bursaries. Each of Nairobi’s 85 wards will receive KSh 7 million, with the remainder supporting continuing students under the Executive Scholarship Programme.

To strengthen grassroots development, KSh 2.15 billion has been set aside for Ward Development Programmes. Kerich told the Assembly that 145 projects were completed in the previous year and that the new funding will accelerate ongoing works in all wards.

The roads sector will receive KSh 2.8 billion for road construction and rehabilitation across the county, while KSh 1 billion has been earmarked for the development and upgrading of stadiums and sports complexes.

Kerich emphasized that the budget aims to address Nairobi’s growing demands while also cushioning residents from ongoing economic challenges.

“We will not increase taxes during these difficult times. Instead, we’re focusing on widening the tax base and tapping into previously uncollected revenue sources,” he said.

He also revealed that Nairobi County posted KSh 13.4 billion in own-source revenue in the previous financial year, up from KSh 10 billion, largely due to expanded collection efforts and system reforms.