[Source: Business Daily, by Collins Omulo]
City Hall has flagged the national government for being one of the biggest defaulters in payment of land rates to the county, accounting for most of the Sh120 billion debt the private and public entities owe the county.
Government institutions including Parliament, Department of Defence, Parliamentary Service Commission, Central Police, National Treasury, Vigilance House and Kenyatta International Convention Centre have been mentioned as some of the biggest culprits.
County head of rates Albert Okiro told the Nairobi County Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee Monday that only 150,000 properties in the capital pay land rates out of more than 1.5 million.
Mr Okiro said efforts to recoup the debts have hit a snag after the majority of the government institutions resorted to legal battles that have taken long to end.
Robert Mbatia-led committee had summed the official to shed light on City Hall’s failure to meet its revenue targets for the department over the past five financial years since 2013.
Mr Mbatia questioned why City Hall’s rate collections had been falling since 2016 despite being charged at 34 percent.
This was after it was revealed that the county government has managed to collect only Sh12.9 billion against a target of Sh21billion since 2013.
This financial year, City Hall has collected Sh1.1 billion against a target of Sh4.6 billion with only two months to go.
However, Mr Oriko said challenges such as a lack of title deeds for properties, an aged valuation system and long legal processes had hindered efficient collection of land rates.
[Full article: Business Daily, by Collins Omulo]
