The Nairobi City County government (the County Assembly and Executive spent Sh1.18 billion on domestic travel, comprising Sh83.42 million spent by the County Assembly and Sh1.09 billion by the County Executive for the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year.
This is even as the executive spent an exclusive Sh373.61 million on foreign travel, with Switzerland accounting for the highest amount at Sh56.7 million, where the executive officials attended the Sustainable Finance Summit from September 30 to October 3, 2025, while six of them attended the same between September 28 to October fourth and five others attended the mayors meeting in Geneva Switzerland from October 2-8, 2025.
Thereafter, five county executive officials attended the 5th UN Forum of Mayors Cities Shaping the Future from October 6-11 last year for Sh4.7 million.
In her recent report, the Controller of Budget has revealed that the four Nairobi county officials who attended the side event as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last year received an accumulative Sh8.7 million as per diem while the logistics of the five officials who attended a side event of UNGA cost the county Sh9.3 million for the seven days that they were in New York.
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While Nairobi City County spent Sh10.7 million for seven County executive officials who attended the CNN perspective of Africa between October 31 and November 4, 2025, in London, details from the COB indicate the City county paid Sh3.7 million for two County executive officials to attend the International Management and Economic Governance.
This is further as details from Nyakang’o office revealed that the two county executive officials from Nairobi who attended Brics Ur ban Future Forum meeting in Russia between September 15 and September 20 received Sh4.1 million as per diem while the county spent Sh4.1 million on their logistics to attend the same.
For the 31st ICPAK executive seminar that happened in Turkey between 1st and 5th December last year, the Nairobi City County spent Sh12.3 million for its seven officials who attended the event while Sh11.6 million was spent for seven officials to attend the 2025 International Climate Change Conference in Argentina.
Considering the amount spent of development, Sh5.34 billion which is still below the recommendations and provisions of the law, the foreign and domestic travel accounted for ten per cent of it.
“In the review period, the County reported spending Sh5.34 billion on development programmes, representing an increase of 120 per cent compared to FY 2024/25, when the County spent Sh2.43 billion,” the report by COB states.
While Nyakang’o pointed out that the city county has a total of 36 stalled projects across various sectors, she noted that the projects had an estimated value of Sh2.90 billion, of which Sh117.3 million had already been paid. However, no reason was given by the Sakaja-led administration for why the projects had stalled.
With Sh1.39 billion spent on travel, Nairobi led as the highest expenditure on travel, with West Pokot County being the second-highest expenditure on domestic travel at Sh492.9 million, while spending Sh11.37 million on foreign trips during the same period.
Baringo County also featured among the top spenders, with officials spending Sh48.3 million on domestic travel and Sh40.64 million on foreign travel.
Overall, county governments spent Sh13.17 billion on domestic and foreign travel, accounting for 15 percent of the Sh88.22 billion spent on operations and maintenance during the review period.
The report shows Baringo had the highest travel-to-operations and maintenance expenditure ratio at 42 percent, followed by Lamu County at 36 percent, Homa Bay County at 35 percent, and West Pokot at 32 percent.
In contrast, Mandera County reported the lowest ratio at 4 percent, while Kilifi County and Wajir County each recorded a 6 percent rate.
Garissa and Mandera were among the counties with the lowest spending on domestic travel, at Sh62.17 million and Sh77.19 million, respectively.
The report further indicates that Kirinyaga County, Siaya County, and Homa Bay did not spend any funds on foreign travel during the period under review.
The findings come despite government efforts to curb public expenditure through austerity measures announced after the withdrawal of the 2024 Finance Bill. The measures included plans to reduce non-essential domestic and foreign travel, cut the number of advisers, and rationalise state corporations with overlapping mandates.
