The near-total reliance on National Treasury allocations for their recurrent and development expenditure is the most damning thing about the 47 counties during their nearly 13 years. The common joke is that little happens in these devolved units until their equitable share of nationally raised revenue is disbursed. The various offices then become a hive of activity.
However, the highest transfer of resources from the centre to the grassroots has happened since the inception of the counties in 2013. They have received Sh14 trillion, recording impressive development countrywide.
For the 2026/2027 financial year, the county governments received Sh428 billion as their equitable share of nationally raised revenue. This was 20.9 per cent of the last audited national revenue accounts, which surpassed the 15 per cent minimum constitutional limit. Unfortunately, some negative habits such as corruption, mismanagement, theft and overemployment have also been devolved.
Turkana and Siaya scored the weakest own-source revenue (OSR) performance in the first nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year. The counties’ collections increased by only 17.2 per cent.
National Treasury data shows that Turkana collected Sh162.97 million, or 13.6 per cent of its Sh1.2 billion OSR target in the nine months. Siaya managed Sh607 million, or 19.5 per cent of its Sh3.1 billion target. Samburu and Garissa exceeded their annual targets, thanks to stronger revenue collection. The former exceeded its target by 138 per cent. Nairobi collected Sh10.8 billion, or 50.9 per cent of the capital city’s Sh21.2 billion revenue target.
The average performance rate was 53.8 per cent. The counties raised Sh53.83 billion in the OSR, a 17.2 per cent increase from Sh45.90 billion in 2024/25. Only 29 counties collected more than half of their targets. Counties should seal any leakages and boost revenue by automating systems and curbing corruption. And they also give incentives to residents to encourage the payment of taxes.
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