In the wake of harsh criticism from Nairobi County workers over delays in salary payments, Governor Johnson Sakaja has come out to respond to the matter.
Sakaja, who spoke on Thursday morning during an interview on Radio Jambo, said the delays had been caused by the National Treasury's failure to disburse equitable share allocation on time.
According to Sakaja, Nairobi County had failed to receive its equitable share from the national government for the past two months, a situation which he said forced the county government to suspend payments.
"The salaries for this month were delayed because Nairobi County receives an equitable share and also generates its own revenue. So we have not received the equitable share for two months," he said.
Sakaja revealed that recently, his administration has been relying on the county's own-source revenue to pay workers, which, according to the county chief, was unsustainable.
However, the governor said that he had already met officials from the National Treasury, who assured him that the pending funds would be disbursed to the county soon.
"I talked to the treasury officials, and they assured me that they will release the money. They informed me that they were still addressing an international debt and that the money would be released anytime," Sakaja noted.
He added, "The salary delays in Nairobi have never surpassed one month. These salary delays can only be solved if our own source revenue surpasses the amount we receive as an equitable share."
Sakaja's response comes a day after the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGU) faulted the Nairobi County Government for reportedly failing to honour its commitment to timely payments of salaries.
The union criticised Sakaja for contravening the return-to-work agreement signed on August 11, 2025, in which the county committed to paying salaries by the fifth day of each month.
KCGU, led by its Nairobi branch Secretary Calvince Okello, lamented the delays, claiming that the situation left many workers grappling to pay their bills and sustain their livelihoods.
"It's quite unfortunate that today, being the 17th of September, 2025, Nairobi county staff are yet to receive their third-party remittances of July 2025 and August 2025 salaries, and there are no signs when the salaries will be paid. This is a gross contravention of the Return to Work agreement," the union stated.
