Kilifi Governor Gideon Maitha Mung’aro has painted a picture of a county on the rise, citing stronger revenue collection, expanded health services, improved water access, upgraded roads and growing investment in affordable housing.
Delivering his 2025 State of the County Address at the County Assembly on Wednesday, Mr. Mung’aro said Kilifi had recorded progress across all sectors in the three years his administration has been in charge.
“When I stood before this House and the people of Kilifi three years ago, I came with a promise of work, of change and of real measurable progress. Today, I am proud to report that Kilifi is on an upward trajectory,” he said.
He noted that the county’s economy was stabilising, investor confidence had grown significantly, public services had improved, and communities in all seven sub-counties were experiencing the impact of responsive and responsible governance.
The governor said his administration had strengthened revenue collection, resulting in a steady rise in own-source revenue from about Sh1.003 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year to Sh1.513 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year—an increase of 50.8 percent. The county is projecting to collect Sh1.875 billion in the current financial year, a further 24 percent rise.
To safeguard revenue streams, the governor announced plans to install security cameras at all revenue points to curb leakages and reinforce accountability.
In the health sector, Mr. Mung’aro said annual revenue had grown from under Sh100 million to over Sh550 million, driven by digitisation and automation of hospital processes. He said the county had renovated 21 health facilities, opened new dispensaries, promoted 957 health workers and hired 191 new staff.
He added that HIV prevalence had fallen from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 2.5 percent in 2024, with 94 percent of patients now on antiretroviral therapy.
The governor highlighted ongoing multimillion-shilling infrastructure upgrades in county health facilities, noting that both ICU and HDU units are now operational at Malindi Sub-County Hospital. He said the installation of a 64-slice CT-Scan at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital had significantly improved diagnostic accuracy and reduced referrals to Coast General Hospital in Mombasa.
Mr. Mung’aro said that a strengthened partnership with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) had raised the county’s essential medicines and medical supplies fill rate from 40 percent in 2022 to 93 percent currently. He added that a structured payment plan had been instituted to clear pending bills while ensuring consistent remittances, stabilising the supply chain and improving service delivery.
In the water sector, the governor reported that coverage had increased from 65 percent in 2022 to 69 percent in 2025, supported by the installation of 744 kilometres of pipeline, 49 boreholes and 12 water pans. He acknowledged that despite the improvements, supply remained constrained as the main water sources could not keep pace with rising demand.
Turning to housing, Mr. Mung’aro said 1,200 affordable housing units were under construction, with 400 already completed and occupied. The initiative aligns Kilifi with the national affordable housing agenda and aims to reduce the county’s urban housing deficit.
Despite technical challenges during his two-hour speech—much of which was barely audible due to a faulty public address system—the governor outlined substantial improvements in the education sector. He said 2,122 students had benefited from full scholarships to national schools, while the county’s school feeding programme had raised enrolment from 46,938 learners in 2023/2024 to 57,802 in 2025.
He added that the county had strengthened early childhood education by training 1,100 ECDE teachers and equipping 406 centres with digital devices. In vocational education, more than 2,900 trainees graduated from county vocational training centres in 2024, supported by new ICT labs established through the KEMFSED programme.
The governor said tourism and trade had also advanced, with Kilifi now hosting 32 fully developed markets. He noted that the 2024 Kilifi Investment Conference unlocked more than USD 1.1 billion (about Sh142 billion) in capital commitments.
Kilifi also showcased its tourism and cultural heritage at nine major tourism fairs, hosted signature festivals such as Mekatilili wa Menza and Chenda Chenda, and welcomed international events including the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference and the Essence of Africa Conference in Malindi in October.
By Emmanuel Masha and Martin Mwangolo
