Nairobi Locked Out of Sh5.7 Billion World Bank County Funding Over Reform Gaps

Nairobi County has missed out on a share of a Sh5.7 billion World Bank-backed funding programme. The exclusion follows its failure to meet key performance targets on financial management and governance reforms.

The county was left out of the latest disbursement under the Second Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KSDP II) after failing assessments on pending bills, own-source revenue collection and payroll auditing.

One of the concerns raised was Nairobi’s continued use of manual payroll systems. During the nine months to March 2026, the county processed Sh312 million in personnel costs manually, while Sh13.9 billion was processed through the Human Resource Information System.

Although Nairobi received the programme’s initial Sh32.5 million capacity-building grant alongside the other 46 counties, it did not qualify for the larger performance-based development allocation tied to demonstrated reforms.

The Controller of Budget also found that the county failed to implement its trade-payables settlement plan. The County Executive cleared Sh4.9 billion against a commitment of Sh8.8 billion, while the County Assembly failed to settle any of its planned Sh650.6 million.

In addition, Nairobi collected about Sh13.7 billion in own-source revenue against a target of Sh19.9 billion during the 2025 financial year.

The four-year KSDP II programme, valued at Sh25.9 billion, supports improvements in county financial management, procurement, budgeting, auditing, planning and public participation.

In the latest allocation, Kitui, Kwale and Migori received the highest funding at Sh184.8 million each, while Kajiado, Kakamega and Uasin Gishu received the lowest allocations of Sh55.3 million each, against an average county allocation of Sh123.9 million.