County governments raised KSh 67.30 billion from own-source revenue (OSR) in the 2024/25 financial year, a 62.65 jump from KSh 41.40 billion in the previous year.
- •Despite the strong growth, counties achieved only 77% of their combined KSh 87.67 billion revenue target, signalling persistent shortfalls in local revenue mobilisation.
- •The Controller of Budget reported that the collections included KSh 42.71 billion in ordinary own-source revenue and KSh 24.59 billion from Facility Improvement Financing (FIF) and Appropriations-in-Aid (AIA).
- •FIF revenue outperformed targets, hitting 118 percent of the KSh 20.77 billion target, while ordinary OSR reached 64 percent of its KSh 66.90 billion target.
Nairobi City led in nominal collections with KSh 13.19 billion, followed by Mombasa (KSh 5.13B), Narok (KSh 5.67B), Kiambu (KSh 5.06B) and Nakuru (KSh 3.65B).
At the bottom were West Pokot (KSh 228M), Tana River (KSh 203M), Marsabit (KSh 185M) and Samburu (KSh 310M).
Top Performers
| County | Target (KSh Million) | Actual (KSh Million) | Performance (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kisii | 865.00 | 1,538.64 | 178 |
| Tana River | 153.11 | 203.23 | 133 |
| Mandera | 350.00 | 431.17 | 123 |
| Wajir | 270.00 | 331.72 | 123 |
| Kirinyaga | 648.45 | 794.12 | 122 |
| Garissa | 400.00 | 478.87 | 120 |
| Vihiga | 340.00 | 397.86 | 117 |
| Samburu | 281.63 | 309.83 | 110 |
| Meru | 1,097.00 | 1,163.32 | 106 |
| Elgeyo Marakwet | 352.43 | 367.49 | 104 |
| Homa Bay | 1,482.81 | 1,490.38 | 101 |
| Turkana | 400.00 | 400.83 | 100 |
Bottom Performers
| County | Target (KSh Million) | Actual (KSh Million) | Performance (%) |
| Siaya | 927.34 | 436.68 | 47 |
| Kajiado | 1,640.00 | 907.54 | 55 |
| Machakos | 3,925.79 | 2,181.84 | 56 |
| Isiolo | 371.21 | 216.15 | 58 |
| Taita Taveta | 850.00 | 547.99 | 64 |
| Bungoma | 1,777.93 | 1,148.79 | 65 |
| Kisumu | 3,804.07 | 2,463.03 | 65 |
| Kakamega | 2,200.00 | 1,437.93 | 65 |
| Nairobi | 20,060.93 | 13,188.79 | 66 |
Structural Gaps
The Controller noted that some counties exceeded targets due to underbudgeting or setting no targets for Facility Improvement Financing (FIF), which inflated their performance rates.
Nairobi, for instance, collected KSh 1.34 billion in FIF without setting a target. Revenue surges in Tana River (gypsum extraction) and Samburu (tourism) also boosted collections.
The report urged high-performing counties to raise their FY 2025/26 targets, citing the 2022 World Bank/CRA OSR potential study. Underperforming counties were advised to review their revenue strategies and adopt both short-term and long-term measures to meet future targets without overestimating their potential.
