A group of ten counties has emerged as the top contributors to locally generated revenue, raising a combined Sh30 billion between June 2024 and March 2025. This performance comes despite a difficult economic period marked by anti-Finance Bill protests that disrupted business activity in key urban centres across the country.
According to the latest County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report by the Controller of Budget, the 47 counties collectively generated Sh45.91 billion during the nine-month period under review. This marks an increase from Sh41.40 billion collected during a similar window in the previous financial year.
Nairobi County led all devolved units, recording Sh9.9 billion in local revenue despite being one of the hardest-hit regions during the nationwide demonstrations. Narok followed closely with Sh4.9 billion, while Kiambu posted Sh3.3 billion. Mombasa and Nakuru rounded out the top five revenue-generating counties, with collections of Sh3.2 billion and Sh2.5 billion respectively. Other counties that performed strongly included Kisumu, Kakamega, Machakos, Homa Bay, and Kilifi.
The report attributed Nakuru’s steady rise in revenue collection to increased economic activity following the county’s elevation to city status in 2021. Overall, the Sh45.91 billion collected represents 53 per cent of the annual target of Sh87.11 billion for own-source revenue across counties.
While many counties struggled to hit their targets, some surpassed expectations. Tana River was the most notable performer, collecting 172 per cent of its annual revenue target. Garissa exceeded its goal with a 104 per cent achievement, while Narok reached 99 per cent. Samburu, Kirinyaga, and Elgeyo-Marakwet also performed well, achieving between 74 and 85 per cent of their set targets. Tana River’s performance was largely attributed to revenues from gypsum extraction, while Narok and Garissa benefited significantly from tourism and health sector collections.
On the other end of the spectrum, several counties failed to meet even half of their projected revenue goals. These included Nyamira, Busia, Siaya, Embu, Nandi, Kajiado, Kwale, Bomet, Taita-Taveta, Bungoma, and Kilifi, despite the latter ranking among the top ten counties in total collections.
In response to the mixed performance, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o urged county governments to improve the accuracy of their revenue forecasting and to align their projections with achievable targets.
“Counties should consider revising their source revenue projections for the next period to align with realistic and achievable targets which can be attained by using an objective revenue forecasting model,” Nyakang’o said.
The report comes at a time when counties are preparing for the new financial year amid a looming cash crisis and delayed disbursements from the National Treasury. The Controller of Budget has continued to raise concerns about fiscal discipline and urged devolved units to strengthen their internal revenue mechanisms while exercising prudent financial management.
