Nairobi County has unveiled a Sh46.98 billion budget for the 2026/2027 financial year, with a large share of the money set to go towards salaries, daily operations and service delivery.
According to the county’s Citizen Budget Estimates released this month, about Sh32.89 billion, which is nearly 70 per cent of the total budget, has been allocated to recurrent expenditure.
This includes workers’ salaries, maintenance costs, operations and running of county services.
Only Sh14.09 billion has been set aside for development projects across different sectors.
Health received the biggest allocation in the new budget, taking up Sh13.7 billion.
The county says the money will support healthcare services, medicine supply, emergency response systems, hospital upgrades, nutrition programmes and digitisation of health services.
The move comes at a time when many Nairobi residents continue to complain about overcrowded hospitals, medicine shortages and pressure on public health facilities.
Boroughs and Public Administration departments were also among the biggest beneficiaries after receiving Sh5.46 billion.
The funds will go towards county coordination, disaster management, emergency response and service delivery at sub-county and ward levels.
Environment, Water, Energy and Natural Resources received Sh5.04 billion to support water supply projects, waste collection, sewer expansion and sanitation programmes.
Under the plan, the county intends to drill 10 boreholes every year, install hundreds of water storage tanks and expand sewer coverage in parts of the city.
The county also plans to improve water supply to households as demand continues to rise with Nairobi’s growing population.
Road construction and rehabilitation projects were allocated Sh4.03 billion under the Mobility and Works department.
This money will be used for road maintenance, drainage, traffic management, and street lighting in various parts of the city.
On the other hand, the Nairobi County Assembly was allocated a sum of Sh2.8 billion for the running of the Assembly.
Projects for the development of the wards will be allocated Sh2.15 billion for the implementation of various community projects and small-scale infrastructural projects.
The county will generate Sh24.12 billion through its internally generated revenues which include parking, land rates, business permits, market charges, and building approvals.
The rest of the money will come from the central government and development partners.
As much as the county implements new expenditure plans, the county is under financial strain with pending bills of Sh86.8 billion, the largest in the whole country.
The huge debt continues to raise concerns about the county’s financial management and ability to fund services effectively.