Nairobi MCAs extend Revenue Committee mandate for 45 days
Nairobi County Assembly has voted to extend the period for an Ad Hoc Committee formed to investigate the performance of Nairobi City County’s revenue collection system.
The members extended the sitting period for the Committee which is chaired by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok for 45 more days. The Committee has been in place since November 2023.
The mandate of the Committee lapsed on January 3, 2023, and it was expected to table a comprehensive report surrounding the poor collection of revenue in the capital city.
However, the chairperson sought an extension from the Speaker, since they were yet to meet critical people who would help them to finalise the report.
“Noting that circumstances surrounding gaps in revenue collection in the County continue to evolve while the Committee is yet to meet some crucial witnesses and visit various sites whose evidence and findings are critical in the inquiry,” Imwatok said.
The Committee is now expected to table its final report on or before Tuesday, March 19.
According to the Chairperson, the Committee is expected to meet the Head of Public Service Mr Felix Koskei, former Director General of the defunct NMS function Major Gen. Mohamed Badi among others.
However, Gen. Badi, and Mr Koskei snubbed the last three invites, where they were invited to state the facts about what they know regarding the Nairobi Revenue System (NRS), which is domiciled under the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The ICT Ministry of ICT led by Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo also snubbed summons.
The committee is further expected to make a site visit to where the NRS servers are and to meet the people behind the system.
During the debate, a section of members opposed the additional time, stating that already the Committee was duplicating the roles of the Finance and Budget Committee.
Also, the descending opinion was raised by the Minority Leader Mr Anthony Karanja Kiragu, who said that the extension period was unnecessary.
Mr Karanja, who is the member of the committee had earlier claimed that the Committee was heading nowhere in its investigation.
The Committee started its mandate following the complaints over the dwindling county revenue collection in recent years, compared to the highest collection of Sh12.5 billion that was collected under former Governor Dr Evans Kidero.
The county’s Own Source Revenue collected during the Financial Year 2021/2022 was Sh8.97 billion, and it collected Sh10.6 billion in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Governor Johnson Sakaja has set the target of Sh19.5 billion in the current financial year, which if attained, will be the highest-ever revenue to be collected in Nairobi.
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