Kisumu County Governor Anyang Nyong'o has announced a 100 per cent waiver on all penalties and interests accrued on outstanding rates.
In a notice issued on Tuesday, the county announced that the waiver was valid for 18 days, between June 12 and June 30.
"The County Government of Kisumu, with the approval of Prof. Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, hereby gives notice to all Land Owners in Kisumu County that a 100 per cent waiver of interest and penalties on outstanding rates has been granted. This Waiver is valid from Thursday, June 12 to Monday, June 30," the notice read.
This waiver has been issued as an incentive to have landowners pay their outstanding land rates within the set waiver period.
However, the offer will only apply to those willing to pay the principal outstanding amount in full.
"All landowners are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this waiver period. Note that the waiver applies only if you pay all the principal outstanding amount in full," the notice read.
The governor further stated that the payments should be made through the Kisumu Revenue Fund upon obtaining an official invoice (demand notice) from the county government.
All payments should be made through the Kisumu County Revenue Fund upon obtaining an official invoice or a demand notice from the county government.
Failure to clear these rates will prompt the county government to apply the relevant laws to recover the outstanding amounts.
This is not the first of the 47 governors to offer such a waiver to entice landowners to clear their land rates. Most recently, the Kilifi, Mombasa and Taita Taveta counties announced similar waivers in April.
Nyeri County also offered the waiver in May. In Nairobi County, Governor Johnson Sakaja has also applied similar tactics in the past.
When that failed, however, the county began a countywide crackdown on noncompliant landowners after it emerged that only about 20 per cent of landowners in the county pay taxes.
