The Kiambu County Government has launched an ambitious plan to boost revenue collection, with Governor Kimani Wamatangi targeting to raise at least Sh7 billion within the next two years without increasing existing fees and levies.
The devolved unit, which has been grappling with low revenues of less than Sh3 billion annually, is in the process of establishing an enterprise resource planning system to centralise revenue collection operations.
Revenue compliance
Yesterday, Mr Wamatangi dispatched all County Executive Committee members, chief officers and other senior officials to monitor revenue compliance in sub-counties, with each team expected to present a report to him for action.
“This is an opportunity to understand the needs and challenges of our people and persuade them to pay taxes and, most importantly, monitor how revenue officers conduct themselves when interacting with clients and managing funds.,” Mr Wamatangi said of the initiative that ends tomorrow. In this financial year, former Governor James Nyoro had envisaged collecting Sh4.1 billion but Mr Wamatangi has since revised the figure upwards to Sh5 billion.
Environment Executive David Kuria, who is in charge of Thika Sub-county, said the county is keen to address issues of non-compliance and weak systems that lead to poor collection of revenue and theft.
An audit by the assembly’s Committee on Finance and Economic Planning last year revealed that the county has been losing millions daily from building permits, quarry fees, cess, car parking and other daily charges through massive theft orchestrated by revenue officers.
The county, the report said, collects 40 per cent to 50 per cent in parking fees, translating to around Sh400 million per year. It collects 45 per cent quarry cess and only 15 per cent from building permits.
The 17-member team made two visits to the Bob Harris Road cess collection point in Ndarugu, where they found that the county was losing over Sh100,000 per day, translating to an upward of Sh3 million per month. BY DAILY NATION