Twenty two counties recorded a drop in Own Source Revenue (OSR) in the 2022/23 financial year compared to the preceding year, data published by the Treasury shows.
According to the Budget Review and Outlook Paper released by the Treasury on September 15, Mt. Kenya counties experienced the most significant decline in revenue collection.
Within this region, 6 out of the 10 counties registered negative growth, with no county managing to achieve double-digit growth.
Laikipia stood out as the worst-performing county, recording a staggering -43.6 per cent growth, while Nyeri recorded -35.6 per cent being the second worst performing county in Mt Kenya.
Laikipia's growth of -43.6 per cent, was overshadowed by Homa Bay, the top-performing county, which saw a 235 per cent increase in Own Source Revenue (OSR).
Among the Mount Kenya counties, several experienced negative growth, including Nakuru (-5.6 per cent), Tharaka Nithi (-29.9 per cent), Embu (-2.9 per cent) and Kiambu (-23 per cent)
On the brighter side, other counties in the Mount Kenya region performed as follows: Meru (8.7 per cent), Murang'a (2.7 per cent), Nyandarua (6.9 per cent) and Kirinyaga (9.5 per cent).
Notably, Homa Bay, under the leadership of Gladys Wanga, achieved progress by collecting Ksh491 million in OSR, a substantial increase compared to the Ksh146 million collected by her predecessor, Cyprian Awiti.
Other top-performing counties in terms of Own Source Revenue (OSR) included Narok, Samburu and Kajiado.
Narok recorded an improvement, with OSR ticking up from Ksh1.3 billion in the 2021/22 financial year to Ksh3 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, representing a 129 per cent increase.
This upward trend is expected to continue in the 2023/24 financial year following President William Ruto's declaration in August, which ensures equal revenue sharing between the national government and the county from the proceeds of the Masai Mara National Park.
Kajiado County saw revenue rise from Ksh527 billion to Ksh875 billion while in Samburu there was 88.7 per cent increase from Ksh120 million to Ksh226 million.
Some of the worst performing counties included; Laikipia (-43.6 per cent), Marsabit (-41.2 per cent) and Busia (-31.1 per cent).
