Two Community Radio Stations have suspended their services to the county government owing to unpaid dues.
Tana FM and Amani FM Station Managers have revealed that the county has not paid for services offered despite them making pleas to be paid.
‘’We have written letters through our lawyer but they have not responded,’’ Shadrack Hiribae, Tana FM CEO said.
Mr Hiribae also revealed that the county owes the station Ksh 17 Million since 2017. The delays have affected the station to the point of losing presenters.
Tana FM added that the station had lost transmission in certain towns due to lack of money to service faulty transmitters.
Due to the challenges the radio station has faced, it has lost revenue and listeners and therefore it has decided to suspend services to the county government until the county pays its debt.
Addressing the issue, Governor Dhadho Godhana blamed the issue on delays by the Treasury to release funds allocated to counties.
‘’I ask for patience, we have to wait for the money to come from the treasury so that we can look at these complaints and how to address them,’’ he said.
The Governor added that the county’s focus was now directed to payment of county employees’ salaries and that he would resolve the issue soon and end the suspension.
County governments are facing challenges of revenue collection since the Covid-19 pandemic started. The Government imposed a night curfew which crippled businesses since businesses had to close early and open up late.
The restricted movement imposed on five counties when the Covid -19 situation was high in the country also saw counties loose revenue. This was because business could only be conducted within the counties.
County Governments have therefore lost money due to Covid-19 and delayed disbursement from the treasury.
