KRA put Nairobi parking fee defaulters on notice
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) which collects parking fees on behalf of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has asked parking attendants in the capital to collect pictorial evidence of vehicles whose drivers fail to pay parking fees.
It comes amid complaints by motorists that NMS has in the past months been charging them for parking despite their vehicles not being within the said areas.
In a statement the taxman now says a number of motorists had disputed penalties, prompting them to rely on photographic evidence to handle such cases.
“To address these complaints, parking attendants in county uniform will henceforth photograph the number plates of non-compliant motor vehicles for reference purposes in case of disputes.”
At the same time, KRA also banned the physical VIP parking stickers replacing them with a system where a list of all vehicles that qualify for VIP parking have been uploaded into the Nairobi Revenue System (NRS) parking system.
“A list of vehicles that qualify for VIP parking have been uploaded into the NRS parking system. Physical VIP parking stickers will no longer be recognized.
KRA parking attendants will henceforth use querying devices to confirm the compliance status of such vehicles,” the statement added.
KRA took over the collection of revenue in Nairobi County last year following an agreement signed between the then-governor Mike Sonko and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“According to Article 5.5 of the Deed of Transfer of Function from the Nairobi City County Government to the National Government gazette, February 25, 2020, and per section 160 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012…the Nairobi City County Government appoints the Kenya Revenue Authority as the principal-agent for overall revenue collection for all county revenue for twenty-four months, with effect from March 16, 2020,” read part of the Gazette Notice signed by Finance Executive Allan Igambi.
The capital city has been synonymous with congestions brought about by motor vehicles.
Attempts by the county government to discourage on-street parking by increasing daily parking fees for private motorists have failed severally.
In March, city authorities said they will convert the popular Machakos Country Bus terminus into an underground parking bay.
NMS Director-General, Mohamed Badi, said the planned multi-story parking will be digitally operated with motorists charged hourly.
The move is part of a bigger project that will have other parking areas in the capital converted into underground parking bays, drastically increasing capacity.
“We are in the process of developing underground parking at Sunken Park and eventually Machakos Bus Park will be turned into an underground parking area,” said Major-General Badi.