By Valentine Omondi
Only three of Kenya’s 47 county governments attained a “Good” fiscal performance grade in the 2024/25 financial year, with the vast majority remaining in the average category despite a marginal improvement in overall fiscal performance.
A new County Fiscal Performance Measurement Index (CFPMI) report by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that Embu, Narok and Wajir were the only counties to secure a Grade B, while 35 counties, representing 74.5 per cent, were rated Grade C.
No county attained the highest Grade A, which is classified as excellent fiscal performance, highlighting the limited number of counties that have moved beyond average financial management.
Embu emerged as the country’s best-performing county with a CFPMI score of 0.689, moving from Grade C in the previous financial year to Grade B. Narok retained its position among the top performers with a score of 0.608, while Wajir entered the Grade B category with a score of 0.605.
The three Grade B counties increased the proportion of counties in the “Good” category from 4.3 per cent in 2023/24 to 6.4 per cent in 2024/25. At the same time, the share of counties in Grade C fell from 76.6 per cent to 74.5 per cent, indicating a modest shift towards better fiscal performance.
The overall average CFPMI score also edged upwards from 0.469 to 0.471, suggesting that county fiscal management improved, although only marginally.
The grading pattern, however, shows that the improvement was not broad-based. While two counties moved into the Good category, the overwhelming majority remained in Grade C, suggesting that average fiscal performance continues to be the dominant position among county governments.
The CFPMI assesses all 47 counties using seven indicators: budget implementation, development expenditure, own-source revenue, wages and benefits, pending obligations, county assembly expenditure ceilings, and audit outcomes. The index combines these indicators to produce an overall fiscal performance score for each county.
The 2024/25 results therefore present a mixed picture of county financial management: there is evidence of gradual improvement, but the movement into the higher performance category remains limited.
For counties such as Embu and Wajir, the shift into Grade B demonstrates that movement beyond average performance is possible. However, with no county reaching Grade A and nearly three-quarters remaining in Grade C, the data suggests that excellence in county fiscal management remains uncommon.
The findings point to a county system making incremental rather than dramatic progress, with a small group beginning to pull ahead while most governments continue to operate within the average performance band.
