The Senate has put Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii under pressure over Eldoret City’s weak revenue performance and an alleged lack of ethnic diversity in its workforce, warning that the county risks undermining the city’s status if it fails to address the concerns.
The Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations told Bii that Eldoret cannot continue operating as a major urban centre while relying on revenue collections that lawmakers consider inadequate to finance its expanding responsibilities.
The committee’s scrutiny places the Governor at the centre of questions over whether his administration has put in place sufficient measures to make Eldoret financially self-sustaining following its elevation to city status.
During deliberations with the county leadership at Parliament Buildings, senators questioned the county’s revenue strategy and demanded concrete measures to expand Eldoret’s own-source revenue rather than relying on existing collection streams that they said were incapable of matching the city’s growing needs.
Committee Chairperson and Wajir Senator Mohamed Abbas directly challenged Bii over the figures presented by the county administration.
"This is a new city, and your revenue streams are still limited. You are collecting annually Sh1.2 billion. Will this amount of money sustain the city?"
The question exposed what senators described as a widening mismatch between Eldoret’s ambitions as a city and its capacity to finance basic services, infrastructure and other responsibilities.
Abbas said the revenue position was particularly worrying because Eldoret is a rapidly expanding urban centre requiring significant investment in roads, waste management, public amenities and other infrastructure.
"The city is actually a growing city that needs a lot of infrastructure development. With the minimum collections you're making, you will not be able to sustain its function and provide services to the residents," Senator Abbas added.
The committee noted that total county revenue collections had reached Sh6.45 billion over six years, with Eldoret City contributing Sh5.048 billion. However, senators questioned whether the city was generating enough revenue independently to support its functions.
The concern was heightened by figures showing a decline in revenue collection, with Senator Chute noting that collections had fallen from Sh1.1 billion in the 2020/2021 financial year to Sh1.058 billion in 2025/2026.
The trend, senators warned, raises questions about the effectiveness of the county government's revenue mobilisation strategy at a time when Eldoret is expected to operate as a fully fledged city.
The committee's concern was not merely about the amount collected but whether the county government has demonstrated the urgency required to expand the city's revenue base.
Senator Margaret Kamar also questioned whether the county's revenue collection system was fully automated and whether it reached all parts of the city, suggesting that the low figures could point to weaknesses in collection systems.
For Bii, the figures presented by the committee did not tell the whole story.
The Governor said the official revenue figures did not include money generated by health facilities because of appropriations-in-aid regulations.
He told the committee that once hospital revenues are taken into account, Eldoret's actual own-source revenue rises to Kshs1.7 billion.
“There are ongoing efforts to grow revenues through local infrastructure expansion and international collaborations, including a newly established sister-city investment relationship with the City of Minneapolis in the United States,” the county boss submitted.
Bii also pointed to Eldoret's strength in sports, healthcare, agriculture, logistics and education as areas that could provide new revenue and investment opportunities.
But the explanation did little to remove the broader concern confronting the Governor: whether the county has moved quickly enough to build a revenue system capable of supporting Eldoret's new responsibilities.
The senators' scrutiny also shifted to the composition of the city administration, opening another front of accountability for the county government.
Committee members raised concerns that about 90 percent of city employees were drawn from a single community, questioning whether the county had complied with constitutional requirements on ethnic diversity and inclusivity.
Senator Catherine Mumma, the committee's Vice Chairperson, warned that failure to comply with the law could expose the city board to legal challenges and potentially threaten its legitimacy.
Senator Hezena Lemaletian said Eldoret's position as the major urban centre of the Rift Valley made inclusivity particularly important, given the city's role as a commercial and administrative destination for people from across the country.
The concerns put Bii's administration under renewed pressure to demonstrate that Eldoret's transformation into a city is not merely an administrative change of status but one backed by sound financial management, efficient service delivery and equitable representation.
The committee directed the county executive to review the composition of the city board, rationalise its human-resource structures and develop a clear plan for improving revenue collection.
Bii committed to reviewing the board's legal framework and recruitment mechanisms, with future appointments expected to reflect Kenya's diversity.
The Senate's intervention now leaves the Governor with a clear set of issues to address: declining revenue performance, inadequate own-source collections, questions over the efficiency of revenue systems and concerns about ethnic imbalance in the city administration.