Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja stated that the county is sitting on KSh 60 billion in uncollected revenue annually. He emphasized that the new National Rating Act will help improve land rate collections from 200,000 unpaid properties. Sakaja spoke before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee on Friday, November 28, 2025.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee on Friday, November 28, 2025, warning that the city is losing KSh 60 billion in uncollected revenue each year due to poor land rate compliance. According to Sakaja, the county collects land rates from only 50,000 out of 250,000 parcels in the city, leaving 200,000 properties outside the revenue system.
"If this happens, the capital could multiply its revenue base and unlock development that has been delayed for years," Sakaja stated.
The new National Rating Act offers the best chance yet to address this imbalance by modernizing valuations, expanding the number of rateable properties, and providing counties with stronger enforcement tools. Under the Act, land rate defaulters can receive a 60-day notice, face penalties, lose access to county services, face legal action, or, in extreme cases, have their property auctioned. "The law modernises valuation and broadens who is required to pay rates and gives counties stronger enforcement powers," Sakaja noted.
Sakaja defended the Nairobi Pay digital revenue platform, crediting it for boosting the county's own-source revenue from KSh 10.8 billion to KSh 13.8 billion over three years, the highest since devolution. He added that merging business permits into the Unified Business Permit has simplified licensing and contributed to the KSh 3 billion revenue growth. However, full implementation of the Rating Act remains the missing link to unlocking Nairobi's hidden billions.
The Governor said correcting distortions, such as bungalows and apartments paying similar rates despite vast land differences, will make the system fairer and broaden the revenue base. Nairobi has also started regularizing unauthorized developments to improve safety, ensure structural integrity, and expand compliance. Senators urged the county to address exorbitant transaction fees charged by commercial banks, which they said unfairly burden residents paying for county services.
With Nairobi's payment digitization now largely complete, Sakaja said the next frontier is enforcing land rates, a step he insists could transform the county's financial future.