Nairobi County wage bill skyrockets to Sh17.3 billion following mass hiring under Sakaja
The increase was particularly sharp in the financial year ending June 2023, when staff levels rose to 13,355, more than double the previous year, and employee expenditures reached Sh11.18 billion, an 86.4 per cent rise.
Nairobi County has seen its wage bill soar to Sh17.3 billion following an extensive recruitment drive over the past three years, raising questions about the county’s ability to fund critical development projects.
A special audit by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu indicates that by June 2024, the number of employees at City Hall had climbed to 16,321, up from 5,777 in June 2022.
More To Read
- MPs demand answers over Sh1.8 billion left unspent in Kenyan embassies
- Lawyer moves to court over Nairobi City Park takeover by KFS
- Audit uncovers Sh2.3 billion risk, revenue misreporting at Geothermal Development Company
- Audit uncovers Sh198 million unsupported grants, weak land controls at ADC
- Audit exposes massive water theft, leakages in county water companies
- Nairobi County at crossroads: Mismanagement, politics, and struggle for accountability
During the same period, the county’s spending on staff salaries and allowances jumped by 188.6 per cent, from Sh6 billion to Sh17.3 billion annually.
“Over the three years under review, there was a drastic increase in the number of employees and payroll costs,” Gathungu said in her report on Nairobi’s payroll management.
The increase was particularly sharp in the financial year ending June 2023, when staff levels rose to 13,355, more than double the previous year, and employee expenditures reached Sh11.18 billion, an 86.4 per cent rise.
The audit relied on both manual payroll records and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD), the government system for tracking public sector salaries and employee information.
Governor Jonhson Sakaja, who took office in September 2022, prioritised hiring additional staff and converting casual workers to permanent and pensionable roles as part of his administration’s plan.
However, the expanding wage bill has stretched the county’s finances, leading to repeated delays in salary payments, mainly because of late disbursements from the National Treasury.
“This is to notify all staff that the payment of August 2025 salaries will be delayed due to the late release of the equitable share disbursement from the National Treasury,” said Godfrey Akumali, Nairobi County Head of Public Service, in a circular last week.
All 47 counties depend heavily on the equitable share from the Treasury, but Nairobi’s reliance has intensified as its own revenue collections remain low.
In the last two financial years, the county collected an average of Sh10.8 billion annually, far below the growing wage demands.
By June 2024, staff costs accounted for 55.9 per cent of total revenue, compared to 36.7 per cent the previous year, exceeding the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015 limit of 35 per cent.
The rule is meant to ensure salaries do not consume funds earmarked for development.
The audit also raised red flags about possible ghost workers. It found that 27 employees who received Sh47.552 million between June 2022 and June 2023 were called for a physical verification exercise in December 2024, highlighting lingering doubts over payroll integrity.
The situation has sparked concerns that the growing payroll could continue to drain county resources, undermining the delivery of essential services, including roads, healthcare, and water supply for Nairobi residents.
Top Stories Today
