Nairobi City County is considering one of the most significant administrative reforms since the advent of devolution, with plans to introduce a borough system aimed at decentralising county operations, improving service delivery and reducing the concentration of decision-making at City Hall.
The proposal seeks to establish boroughs as an intermediate administrative layer between the county headquarters and the existing sub-counties. Rather than creating a new level of government, the initiative would reorganise the county’s current structure by grouping several sub-counties under borough administrations responsible for coordinating local county functions.
Under the draft Nairobi City County Boroughs Administration and Coordination Policy, which is currently undergoing public participation, the capital’s 17 sub-counties would be consolidated into a smaller number of boroughs, each headed by a borough manager with administrative and financial oversight over local operations.
County officials say the reforms are intended to address longstanding inefficiencies caused by highly centralised decision-making and limited authority at the sub-county level, which they argue has hampered effective service delivery.
If implemented, borough offices would coordinate key county functions including business licensing, public participation, handling citizen complaints, infrastructure maintenance, emergency response, public health services and local revenue compliance.
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However, core revenue policy and digital payment systems would remain under the control of the county headquarters, with borough administrations focusing on enforcement, compliance and day-to-day service delivery rather than determining fiscal policy.
County Chief Officer for Boroughs and Sub-County Administration Bernard Muia said the success of the reforms would depend on securing broad institutional support and ensuring development partners, community leaders and other stakeholders fully embrace the policy before implementation.
The proposal would also elevate borough managers to the role of accounting officers within their respective jurisdictions, giving them responsibility for managing budgets, personnel and daily administrative operations. While they would coordinate staff deployed from various county departments, technical supervision of specialised officers would remain with their parent departments.
In addition, the reforms envisage the establishment of borough service centres to provide residents with easier access to a wider range of county services closer to their communities, reducing the need to visit City Hall for routine transactions.
The borough model would also enable county departments to share costly assets such as ambulances, fire engines and road maintenance equipment across larger administrative regions instead of allocating them to individual sub-counties, a move expected to improve efficiency and optimise resource utilisation.
Implementation would be carried out in phases, beginning with legal and institutional reforms before progressing to boundary mapping, establishment of borough offices, deployment of staff, integration of digital systems and long-term capacity building. The draft policy does not yet define the exact borough boundaries, indicating that this will be determined following legal and administrative assessments.
Public participation forums on the proposal have since concluded, bringing together county officials, professional associations, manufacturers, civil society groups, residents’ associations and members of the public from across Nairobi. While many welcomed efforts to improve service delivery, participants also raised concerns about the legal basis for creating boroughs, the cost of implementing the reforms and the proposed administrative structure.
