Blow for traders as Sakaja changes tune on licensing
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja speaking at Uhuru Park in Nairobi on September 11, 2023 during the County El Nino preparedness Management briefing.
What you need to know:
- According to the Nairobi City County Finance Bill, 2023 traders will still have to pay fees for individual licences in order to receive the permit.
- The proposed law also gives the director of licensing the powers to ensure that traders comply with relevant laws on health, hygiene and safety.
Traders in the capital will have to dig deeper into their pockets in order to obtain a unified business permit as proposed by the county government due to increased levies in the current financial year.
According to the Nairobi City County Finance Bill, 2023 which is currently before the county assembly, traders will still have to pay fees for individual licences in order to receive the permit.
“We propose to reintroduce the unified business permit as a trade licence combining the single business permit, fire and health certificates, advertising fees and all other licences/permits to ensure upfront payments, leaving the relevant sectors/departments to follow up on compliance,” the Bill reads in part.
Traders will now have to pay more money following the new charges that have been introduced by Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration.
The proposed amendment to the Nairobi City County Trade Licence Act, 2019 further says each application must be accompanied by the relevant fees for the specific licences and permits.
The proposed law also gives the director of licensing the powers to ensure that traders comply with relevant laws on health, hygiene and safety. The county administration has also proposed to give a five per cent discount on the unified business permit.
The governor had pledged during his campaigns to introduce a unified business permit to ease the cost of doing business.
"Let our business people concentrate on doing business as opposed to spending all their energy being harassed on compliance matters," Mr Sakaja had said.
Among the documents traders have to obtain before doing business in Nairobi include fire, food handling, and health inspection certificates, a certificate of goodwill, and loading zone licence.
Traders will also have to pay more to obtain the licences. For instance, a food handler’s health certificate, for which traders pay Sh1,000, will now cost Sh1,500.
An inspection certificate will set one back between Sh10,000 and Sh100,000 depending on the size of the premises, while a fire certificate will go for Sh2,000 for small businesses with one or two employees and between Sh12,000 and Sh40,000 for large shops and supermarkets.
Traders who sell dried or fried fish will be required to pay Sh1,000 while those who sell food from their vehicles will be required to pay Sh7,000 — on top of other required licences.
Licence fees for retailers of alcoholic drinks have doubled. Traders who used pay Sh12,000 will now part with Sh24,000 while those who paid Sh25,000 will cough up Sh50,000.
Street hawkers selling sweets will be required to pay Sh2,500 annually to City Hall. They will also be required to pay Sh50 per day in cess fees up from Sh20.
