Igathe Pleads With Nairobians Not to Sue Him [VIDEO]

Nairobi Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe has pleaded with Nairobians not to take him to court over the planned digitization plan for the county that will lead to city property owners paying higher land rates upon valuation.

Earlier in the week, Mr Igathe unveiled the Digital Transformation Program which is meant to enhance service delivery to Nairobi residents by digitizing various aspects of the administration.

In a video posted on his YouTube Channel on Friday, the DG explained that: "Revenue collection is a disaster in Nairobi. We are not compliant but we are all very entitled to services. Cities are run with property taxes and in Nairobi where these contribute 36%, compliance is very low.

[caption caption="File image of Nairobi Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe"][/caption]

"Please don't run to the courts. We must run to fix the valuation roll of Nairobi. I'm telling you what to expect and that is the work we have been doing behind the scenes. We are working to fix this by digitization and amending the valuation roll," he stated.

The Nairobi Deputy explained that most  Nairobi residents had been paying property rates on valuations from 1982 which was limiting the revenue stream for the county government.

Here is the video:

[video:]

"As part of the digital transformation of Nairobi City County, we are digitizing payments for all public services and re-designing payments for health and water services. We will eventually eliminate cash handling and minimise human intervention to this process," he added.

Mr Igathe further revealed the institutions that the County government was working with to streamline revenue collection.

"Only 10% of properties in Nairobi pay rates. We are working closely with Kenya Revenue Authority Kenya Power and Nairobi Water Company to integrate our databases and collect taxes more efficiently.

"In parallel, we need support for the Sectional Properties Act currently in Kenya National Assembly. The Sectional Properties Act will enable NCC to charge rates for each property e.g in an apartment complex with 40 homes where 1 home stood before and not as a block i.e the 1 home.

"The more we collect, the more we can do towards Regenerating Nairobi," Mr Igathe conveyed. 

[caption caption="Igathe meeting ICT CS Joe Mucheru and ICT County Executive Charles Kerich among others"][/caption]

The Sectional Properties Act describes separate ownership of units or sections within a complex. A landowner in Nairobi will have to pay rates for each unit on the property.