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Kirinyaga County has emerged as the best-performing county in Kenya, according to a new survey. 

The Thematic Governors Performance Index 2022-2026 by research firm Politrack Africa rates all 47 counties on agriculture, health, water management and public satisfaction. Kirinyaga posted a composite score of 61.5 per cent, the highest in the country, under Governor Anne Waiguru.

Kisii County under Governor Simba Arati followed with 58.5 per cent.

Narok and Machakos counties tied for third at 57.3 per cent, led by governors Patrick Ole Ntutu and Wavinya Ndeti.

Politrack Africa surveyed between July 13 and 17 through computer-assisted telephone interviews, sampling 3,000 respondents across all counties.

The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 per cent at a 95 per cent confidence level.

Researchers scored counties on a scale of one to 10 across devolved functions before converting responses to percentages. The composite score combines agriculture, health, water and public satisfaction ratings divided by four.

“The index measures citizens’ perceptions of the performance of governors based on service delivery and implementation of devolved functions as provided for under the constitution,” said Politrack Africa.

Waiguru recorded the highest public satisfaction score in the survey at 68 per cent. The report credits the Sagana Agro-Industrial Park, a 500-million-shilling project processing tomatoes, mangoes and dairy that has created 2,000 jobs, alongside an e-voucher system reaching 10,000 farmers with seeds and fertiliser.

The report also cites upgrades at Kianyaga and Kimbimbi Level Four hospitals and the completion of the Kimbimbi Water Project, which now supplies clean water to 8,000 households in Mwea East and Kirinyaga Central.

The bottom of the top 20 list included Busia County under Governor Paul Otuoma at 47.8 per cent, Kwale under Governor Fatuma Achani at 48 per cent and Nyandarua under Governor Moses Badilisha at 48.3 per cent.

The survey found a gender gap in ratings, with women rating health, water and public satisfaction higher than men by four percentage points across each category. Men rated agriculture two points higher than women.

Urban residents rated services higher than rural residents across all three sectors, with the widest gap recorded in water access at eight percentage points.

The report recommends that counties close the urban-rural service gap, adopt gender responsive budgeting and scale up successful pilots such as Kirinyaga’s e-voucher system.