Budget 2026/27: Ksh535M allocated for construction of county headquarters as affordable housing gets Ksh50.6B
By Cynthia Lodite, June 11, 2026The Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi, has allocated Ksh535 million for the construction of county headquarters across the country as part of a broader effort to strengthen local governance and improve service delivery.
Presenting the 2026/27 Budget in Parliament on Thursday, June 11, 2026, Mbadi said the allocation forms part of a larger Ksh143.7 billion package earmarked for the housing sector, urban development and public works subsector.
“Further support will include Ksh2.7 billion for the Kenya informal settlement improvement project phase 2 and Ksh535 million targeted to support the construction of county headquarters. These investments will improve living conditions, provision of services and local governance capacity,” Mbadi stated.
A significant portion of the funding, Ksh50.6 billion, has been set aside for the construction of affordable housing units under the government’s Affordable Housing Programme, which Mbadi said continues to play a crucial role in addressing the country’s housing deficit while creating employment opportunities.
“Our Affordable Housing Programme not only provides safe and affordable homes to Kenyans, but also generates jobs directly in construction and indirectly across building materials and services sector. To sustain this momentum, I propose Ksh143.7 billion for the housing sector, urban development and public works subsector,” he stated.
The budget allocation also includes Ksh20.9 billion for social housing units, Ksh20.2 billion for institutional housing and Ksh18.2 billion for the development of critical social and fiscal infrastructure.
Additionally, the government has proposed Ksh18.6 billion under the Kenya Urban Programme to support urban development initiatives across the country.
To improve living conditions in informal settlements, Mbadi announced a further Ksh2.7 billion allocation for Phase Two of the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project.
“This package will include Ksh18.6 billion under the Kenya Urban Programme, Ksh50.6 billion for the construction of Affordable Housing units, Ksh20.9 billion for social housing units and Ksh20.2 billion for institutional housing and Ksh18.2 billion for critical social and fiscal infrastructure,” Mbadi stated.
County Govt infrastructure history
Notably, the construction of the county headquarters was initially expected to be implemented over a span of three years, that is, Financial Years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, at an agreed cost of Ksh518 million.
Under the agreement, the national government was to provide 70% of the total project costs, while each beneficiary county was to contribute 30% of the total project costs.
The Senate in 2015, through an Ad-Hoc Committee on County Headquarters conducted ,an evaluation on the status of county headquarters in the Country. It was noted that some counties did not have any infrastructure to serve as county offices while others had infrastructure but in dilapidated state.
In adopting the Committee’s report, the Senate resolved that five counties required immediate special intervention to enable them to operate effectively.
The counties were Lamu, Nyandarua, Isiolo, Tana River and Tharaka Nithi.
Worth noting, these are counties which, at the advent of devolution, did not inherit adequate facilities from the defunct local authorities that could accommodate the new county governments’ administration.
At the time, in the implementation of the report, a resolution was made that the five counties be allocated a conditional grant to enable them to construct headquarters.
Each county was to receive Ksh121 million for three consecutive fiscal years, amounting to Ksh363 million. This would constitute 70% of the construction costs. The beneficiary counties were each to provide 30% of the construction costs.