City Hall records Sh1.2bn own source revenue collection

Source: Capital FM Kenya
Author: Bruhan Makong, Ken Muthomi

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 10 - The Nairobi County Government has recorded a Sh1.2 billion on own source revenue (OSR) collection by April 2024.

This marks a significant increase from Sh925 million collected during the same period last year.

According to Governor Johnson Sakaja, "We are on course to collect the highest revenue this financial year due to the measures that we have introduced."

"The money collected is used towards development and improvement of the city. The immediate focus in the coming months will be to ensure that priority is trained on revenue collection with a focus on improved service delivery. Our OSR has been on a steady increment. We expect sustained growth going forward and in the coming months," he stated.

In January 2024 Governor Sakaja Johnson introduced the Unified Business Permit (UBP) and ensured a strict no cash policy in revenue collection, thus driving efficiency and compliance.

The increased revenue collection highlights the county's commitment to efficient revenue management.

"The performance comparison for own source revenue in Nairobi City County Government depicts a positive trend, with revenue collection in April 2024 surpassing the previous year's figures," Revenue Administration Director John Ntoiti stated.

"We now have officers who are fully focussed and dedicated to ensuring compliance and the effectiveness of revenue mobilisation efforts at the sub-county and ward levels. This is the highest collection since the fiscal year 2017/2018, when the county collected Sh983 million."

More people are now making payments through various Coop bank branches and our online platforms *647#, this definitely demonstrates the effectiveness of revenue mobilisation efforts at the sub-county and ward levels.

The Revenue Administration team reviewed comparative revenue figures dating back to 2013 across various revenue streams, including land rates, parking fees, plans and inspections, billboards and advertisements, house rents, pre-inspection, food handling certificates, markets, and other income sources.

Discussions focused on implementing measures to further enhance revenue collection.

In addition, the county has put on notice land rate defaulters urging them to pay before action is taken.