Nairobi City County recorded its highest revenue collection since the onset of devolution, hitting Sh13.8B billion for the 2024/2025 financial year.
This marks a significant jump from last year’s Sh12.8 billion an increase of Sh1 billion, underscoring the success of ongoing reforms and intensified collection efforts.
Confirming the milestone, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja acknowledged the achievement despite the political turbulence experienced in the city in recent months.
“To be honest, Sh13.8 billion this is a record since devolution. It’s up from last year’s Sh12.8 billion, a strong Sh1 billion increase. With this momentum, we can aim even higher. It’s possible when we all do our part as government and as citizens,” Sakaja said.
County Receiver of Revenue Tiras Njoroge attributed the growth to aggressive collection drives and enforcement actions targeting land rates and rent defaulters.
“Under the leadership of Governor Sakaja, our revenue collection drive is working. We cannot have a city of millions being sustained by the few who pay. Everyone must contribute. We’re continuing enforcement on land rates, unified business permits (UBP), Nairobi Pay, house rents, and more,” said Njoroge.
Further the Housing department has recorded a significant increase in revenue from house rent collections, reaching Sh800 million in the 2024/2025 financial year the highest in over a decade.
According to Housing Chief officer Lydia Mathia this marks a sharp rise from Sh500 million collected in 2023/2024 and nearly doubles the Sh439 million collected in 2021/2022.
“The spike is attributed to enhanced enforcement, digital rent tracking, and recovery campaigns that peaked in May 2025, when the county collected a record Sh200 million in a single month.”
The revenue announcement comes just days after Finance and Economic Planning CEC Charles Kerich tabled a Sh44.6 billion county budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.
The budget allocates Sh31.2 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh13.4 billion for development, meeting the constitutional threshold that requires counties to dedicate at least 30% of their budgets to development projects, as outlined in the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.
“In the health sector, Sh849 million has been set aside for the construction, rehabilitation, and equipping of health centers, including procurement of essential supplements and vitamins,” said Kerich.
An additional Sh400 million will go toward supplying county hospitals with non-pharmaceutical essentials to ensure smooth operations and continuous availability of basic items.
“Infrastructure development is a key priority. We’re planning major upgrades and expansions for key hospitals including Pumwani Maternity and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. This includes equipping them with modern diagnostic tools and revamping the county’s health data systems,” he added.
The school feeding programme, a flagship project under Governor Sakaja, has been allocated Sh700 million slightly lower than last year’s Sh800 million but enough to sustain operations.
The county constructed over 10 modern kitchens last year to support this initiative, which continues to improve nutrition and attendance in public schools.
On education support, Sh857 million has been allocated for bursaries, with each of Nairobi’s 85 wards set to receive Sh7 million, while the remainder will fund continuing students under the Executive Scholarship Programme.
To strengthen community development, Sh2.15 billion has been allocated for Ward Development Programmes.
Kerich told the Assembly that 145 projects had been completed in the previous year, and the new funding would accelerate ongoing works across all wards.
The roads sector will receive Sh2.8 billion for construction and rehabilitation across the county, while Sh1 billion has been earmarked for the construction and upgrade of stadiums and sports complexes.
Kerich emphasized that the budget aims to meet the growing demands of Nairobi while cushioning residents from current economic hardships.
“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,” said Kerich.
He also revealed that Nairobi County posted Sh13.4 billion in own-source revenue in the previous year up from Sh10 billion as a result of expanded collection efforts and system reforms.
