The City of London on Tuesday slapped Kenya with a Ksh541 million congestion charge noting that Kenya High Commission and a few other embassies had remained a stubborn minority refusing to make payments.
The fee was first introduced in 2003 and is a £15 daily charge if you drive within the Congestion Charge zone 7:00-18:00 Monday-Friday and 12:00-18:00 Sat-Sun and bank holidays.
Notably, the Kenya High Commission was among the highest defaulters in the 12th position.
Other African embassies that have high defaults include; the High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Ksh1.4 billion), the High Commission of the Republic of Ghana (Ksh842 million), and the Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan (Ksh664 million).
“We and the UK Government are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it,” Transport for London (TfL) stated.
“The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels.”
TfL remarked that it would continue pursuing all means to ensure Kenya paid the bill.
Should Kenya and other embassies not pay the congestion charges, TfL threatened to sue the foreign missions at the International Court of Justice.
The United States, the highest defaulter at Ksh2.5 billion, was adamant that it would not pay terming the charge as tax.
While Kenya, the United States, India, Japan and other countries continue contesting the charges, TfL noted that there were some countries whose foreign missions made the payments diligently.
For example, the Embassy of the Republic of Togo had only Ksh6,000 in debt towards the same.
Other countries that have agreed to pay the charge include; Dominica, Finland, Norway, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Israel.
In Africa, the Central African Republic, Rwanda, and Angola join Togo as countries that have been making prompt payments towards the contested charge.
