Study ranks Nairobi top urban centre in Kenya

A new study has ranked Nairobi city as the best performing urban area in the country.

According to the Kenya Urban Areas Performance Index 2018 Report by the Institute of Economic Affairs, the country’s capital is leading with a 63% approval rating as a favorable environment for both residents and investors.

“This tool however did not capture a breakdown of Nairobi’s performance by comparing the formal and informal dichotomy which may tell a different story,” says the report released on Wednesday.

Nakuru ranked second with an approval rating of 56%, followed by Eldoret (55.7%), Mombasa (55.1%), Machakos (53.9%) and Kisumu (47.6%).

According to the report, the study was conducted using the “Urban Areas Performance Index (UAPI), modified and adopted from Municipal Performance Index that has successfully been used by Lithuania Free Market Institute (LFMI) for eight years since 2011.”

“The UAPI is a composite index used to assess urban areas on three clusters of conditions for residents, conditions for investment and principles of good governance.”

Mombasa and Nairobi led on the cluster for investment with Machakos and Kisumu lagging behind.

On the cluster for conditions for residents, which was the best performing cluster according to the report, Machakos and Nairobi led with Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret coming at the tail end.

Nairobi and Machakos once again took the lead in the cluster for Principles of Good Governance with Kisumu and Nakuru becoming the least performers.

“Despite coming last Kisumu, was ranked first in effective management of asset and privatisation of non-core assets,” read the report.

County governments have been urged to improve on service delivery, conditions for investment and the principle of good governance in order to better the lives of Kenyans.