Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero on Wednesday revealed that his Government was making less revenue than the defunct City Council, leaving them dependent on loans and assistance from the National Government.
In a post on his Facebook account, the Governor stated that the County was collecting 33% of what used to be collected in the past, therefore necessitating a heightened collection of revenue to pay staff and run city operations.
“It saddens me that so far we have only managed to collect 33% of what we used to collect in the past. In 1964 the City Council would loan the Government money while in 1968 it loaned foreign governments money, what has changed?” he posed.
Nonetheless, Kidero said that he was hopeful that Nairobi Government would collect Sh100B with a proper plan, that would neither involve corruption, nor any staff member attempting to compromise the stand of the County Government.
“Corruption is something we continue to grapple with in Nairobi City County. We continue to create a zero tolerance environment towards this ill by installing automated systems and processes that reduce handling of cash,” wrote Dr Kidero.
This comes a day after he appeared before a Senate committee chaired by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, to explain why his Government was increasing rates instead of collecting the Sh65 Billion owed to them by the National Government.
“Huge arrears arise from the government and parastatals, as well as penalties accrued, rates and penalties from schools, hospitals, churches and embassies,” Kidero said in defence.
