[Source: The Standard, by Nikko Tanui]
A court battle is looming between Kericho County Government and traders in buildings that have been clamped over unpaid land rates.
Business owners held a protest march yesterday, accusing the county administration of failing to consult them on the matter.
The county secretary and members of the Executive have been leading a crackdown on land rates defaulters.
They go around town and shut businesses located on property with outstanding debts.
Kericho Investors and Business Associations (Kiba) Secretary General Erastus Orina said they had constituted a legal team to seek a court’s interpretation on the matter.
Finance Executive Patrick Mutai said they had decided to adopt the “twinning” of land rates payments and the issuance of single business permits to recover more than Sh500 million land owners owed the county.
The Finance executive asked landlords to visit county revenue offices in the sub-counties to verify their land rates payment status.
Lands Executive Barnabas Ng’eno said they had given plot owners with genuine title deeds or allotment letters up to March 15 to obtain clearance certificates.
Ng’eno also advised banks and other financial institutions that intended to use ownership documents of leasehold land for loan applications to first obtain consent from the county government.
[Full article: The Standard, by Nikko Tanui]
