‘Jungle rule’ costs Sh500m in lost revenue
Nairobians do not pay the County Government close to half a billion shillings in fees and charges required for the businesses they do.
The hotspots where this jungle rule has taken root to sabotage collection of revenue by City Hall officials can be revealed today.
City Hall says the most notorious are Kibera, Ruaraka and Makadara constituencies, where thousands of informal businesses thrive.
Confidential notes shared by the Departments of Revenue and Decentralization and seen by Nairobi News now list Lindi, Sarang’ombe, Kiamaiko, Mwiki, Lunga Lunga, Korogocho, Mathare North, Kariobangi North, Kibera, and Utalii along Outer ring Road as the most notorious areas.
Cartels rule
Shockingly, at Kiamaiko — Kenya’s biggest goat meat slaughterhouse — the County Government does not collect a cent, owing to a cartel of Somali traders, say revenue officers.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 goats are slaughtered every day, but the Sh50-per-goat landing fee, stipulated in the County Government Finance Act is paid for none.
Chief Revenue Officer Nickson Otieno confirmed. “We lose about Sh100,000 every day at Kiamaiko. This adds up to Sh3 million a month. And that is just one market. Cartels have intimidated our officers,” said Mr Otieno.
In Kibera, even formal businesses such as commercial banks have flatly refused to remit fees.