Governor Johnson Sakaja on Tuesday, April 4, expressed confidence in the growth and development of his administration after Nairobi County's revenue collection in March 2023 surpassed performance in the same period in 2022.
The monthly own-source revenue for Nairobi showed a positive outlook as the County Government collected Ksh674 million more in its framework.
The County revenue had long been erratic and unpredictable for the past years, with as low as Ksh8.97 billion collected in the Financial Year 2021/22.
“The County Government remained resilient despite a disruptive year coupled with Covid-19 and economic downturn, a demonstration of strong operational capacity, diligence and commitment in delivering services to Nairobi residents.
"Our immediate focus in the coming months will be to ensure that priority is trained on revenue collection with a focus on improved service delivery," stated Governor Sakaja.
For the periods of January, February and March 2023, Nairobi County's monthly own-source revenue collection was Ksh1.42 billion, Ksh1.3 billion and Ksh1.78 billion respectively.
That was an increase compared to the year 2022 where Ksh1.39 billion was collected in January, Ksh0.99 billion for February and Ksh1.45 billion for March.
On Tuesday, March 21, Sakaja announced that the County had lost around Ksh40 million in daily collection due to Azimio la Umoja anti-government protests.
“We collected Ksh30.3 million on Monday, March 20, which is not even half of our regular daily revenue collection,” Sakaja lamented.
The county, however, posted more revenue in the month despite protests on three of its days.
Sakaja also revealed that the county collects between Ksh70 million and Ksh80 million on a daily basis. He also claimed that the cost of infrastructural damages could exceed Ksh40 million.
"This shows you how greatly Nairobi was affected by the protests and if we allow this to happen every Monday, the county will lose more," Sakaja added.
The Governor, however, maintained that systems were in place to ensure sustained revenue growth for foreseeable months
"This negative trend seems to have been tamed with a monthly comparison portraying a resilient increase in the months of January to March 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
"Overall, our own source revenue has been on a steady increment. We expect sustained growth going forward and in the coming months," He explained.
