Nairobi County Government is on a move to collect billions from landowners in the county to ensure county operations run smoothly.
In the Nairobi City County Fiscal Strategy paper 2023, the county government announced plans to raise the land rates collection from Ksh2.48 billion to Ksh7.03 billion.
"The highest collection from this stream was Ksh3.16 billion realized in FY 2015/16. The medium-term projections depict an increase to Ksh7.03 billion starting from the FY 2023/24, from the latest collection of Ksh2.48 billion achieved in FY 2021/2022," read part of the report.
Among the plans listed include; the use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) based valuation roll with the current land values replacing the old one done in 1982.
With this, Nairobi headed by Governor Johnson Sakaja is expected to increase the annual land rates by Ksh1 billion.
Additionally, the county government will add about 100,000 new properties recently issued with titles in the rates database and charge an average of Ksh10,000 annually. This is set to increase the collections by Ksh1 billion.
The county will also grant a waiver on interests and penalties to recover part of the Ksh17 billion principal arrears and also collect at least 20 per cent of the arrears.
The county government also plans to follow up with all defaulters including private and public owners.
Another measure the county government will implement is follow-ups on government debt through lobbying, negotiations and resolution through the provisions of the Inter-Governmental Relations Act, and also through the Council of Governors (COG).
The Act seeks to establish a framework for consultation and cooperation between the national and county governments and amongst county governments and to establish mechanisms for the resolution of intergovernmental disputes.
Notably, Governor Sakaja has in the past announced measures meant to encourage landlords in Nairobi to pay their land rates. In December 2023, Sakaja declared a 100 per waiver on land rates.
This waiver was later extended to January 2024. Sakaja also increased the rates which would be based on 0.115 per cent of the current value of undeveloped land.
"There has been a huge growth in the city properties that has forced us to review the rates. Currently, some landowners pay a pittance for multimillion properties. We want to ensure what people pay is commensurate with the current value," Sakaja stated in an earlier interview.
