Nairobi County has made substantial headway in reducing its heavy debt load, cutting pending bills by close to Sh35 billion over the last financial year, according to the latest report by the Controller of Budget.
The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report shows that by June 30, 2024, the county’s pending bills had reached Sh121.78 billion, with Sh121.26 billion under the County Executive and Sh513.92 million under the County Assembly.
A year later, the figure had dropped to Sh86.77 billion after settlements, reconciliations, and creditor negotiations.
During the 2024/25 financial year, the County Executive cleared Sh7.56 billion in debts, with Sh5.84 billion going to recurrent programmes and Sh1.72 billion to development.
The County Assembly, on its part, paid Sh283.17 million, mainly to recurrent activities.
“The County Executive submitted a summarised pending bills payment plan and committed to paying Sh800 million. In practice, it surpassed this pledge, settling bills worth Sh7.56 billion.
This reflects an enhanced focus on discipline and prioritisation in the settlement of obligations,” the Controller of Budget noted in the report.
The report also shows that Nairobi has been steadily addressing its most urgent debts. Out of the Sh86.77 billion owed, Sh12.61 billion — about 14.5 per cent — is less than a year old, while Sh74.15 billion dates back more than three years.
Much of these long-standing arrears are linked to salaries, statutory deductions, and staff claims that have piled up across several administrations.
Governor Johnson Sakaja has repeatedly described pending bills as a legacy problem but said his administration is determined to bring it under control.
Speaking on a local radio station on Thursday, he revealed that a chunk of the reduction was achieved through an audit of claims, some of which were found to be irregular.
“We have already reduced them by close to Sh39 billion and will continue with the review process,” he said, adding that legal bills are being reassessed while more county legal officers are being recruited to cut reliance on external lawyers.
He further emphasised that the challenge has grown over decades. “As we make Nairobi work, we must also resolve past issues, because Nairobi didn’t start in 2022,” he said.
The Controller of Budget attributes the progress to stronger revenue mobilisation, improved budget absorption, and deliberate allocation of resources toward debt repayment.
Analysts argue that the reduction is not only easing the burden on contractors and suppliers but also unlocking projects that had stalled and boosting investor confidence in the city’s economy.
