Uproar as Sakaja's Nairobi County Ranked Last in Development Expenditure

Nairobi County has once again been flagged for allocating the least proportion of its budget to development projects, according to the latest report by the Controller of Budget (COB).

The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report shows that out of the Ksh14 billion earmarked for development in Nairobi, only Ksh4 billion was spent.

This translates to about 12 per cent of the county’s total expenditure, far below the 30 per cent threshold required by law.

Section 107 of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act and the County Governments Regulations of 2015 direct counties to channel at least a third of their budgets to development programs.

The Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, noted that Nairobi’s low absorption rate—just 28.7 per cent of its development budget—put it at the bottom of the list.

This is not the first time the capital has been faulted. In a previous financial year ending June 2024, Nairobi failed to spend any funds on development despite setting aside billions for the same purpose.

At the time, it was grouped with several other counties that recorded zero development spending.

The report also highlighted other counties struggling to meet the legal threshold. Machakos was second-lowest, having spent Ksh1.9 billion of the Ksh4.9 billion allocated for development—only 16 per cent of its budget.

The county attributed the shortfall to budget revisions caused by cash-flow challenges.

Kisumu came in next, spending Ksh1.5 billion of its Ksh5.4 billion allocation, which represents just 17 per cent.

According to county officials, the low figure was a result of prioritizing the clearance of pending bills totaling Ksh1.3 billion.

Kiambu County was also flagged after spending only 18 per cent of its development budget.

From the Ksh7.8 billion set aside, the county utilized Ksh2.9 billion, with delays in disbursement of funds cited as the main reason.

Kajiado tied with Kiambu, spending just Ksh1.7 billion of the Ksh3.8 billion allocated for development, also blaming delayed allocations for the poor performance.

Analysts warn that counties failing to meet their development obligations risk stalling critical projects, including infrastructure, health, and education.

Citizens are now calling on governors and county assemblies to prioritize service delivery over recurrent expenditure, which continues to consume the bulk of county resources.