City Hall misses its revenue target of Sh18.2 bn as earnings rise 16pc
The Nairobi City County Government (NCCG) headquarters along City Hall Way on 16 October 2022.
City Hall has recorded a 16 per cent increase in revenue collection, managing to gather Sh10.6 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year against a target of Sh18.2 billion.
This is the highest revenue recorded by the county government in the past five years.
Of the total own-source revenue gained, land rates recorded the highest collection at Sh2.9 billion, followed by parking fees at Sh1.9 billion and single business permits at Sh1.6 billion.
Other sources were planning and building inspections (Sh963 million), billboards and advertisement (Sh593 million), house and stall rent (Sh450 million), markets (Sh250 million), liquor licensing (Sh242 million), fire inspection certificates (Sh203 million), food handlers certificates (Sh132 million) and other incomes (Sh378 million).
Finance Executive Charles Kerich attributed the increase in revenue collection to improved systemic efficiencies in several revenue streams.
“The money we collected from the land rates increased due to the new valuation roll, bulk SMS reminders and the extension of payment without interest up to June 2023. There was also an increase in the number of new businesses that were registered in the Nairobi Pay Portal,” Mr Kerich said.
He also announced plans to enhance efficiency via the Nairobi Pay Portal to boost revenue performance this financial year.
“Throughout the year, we continued to experience revenue portal system challenges, which hampered performance, especially daily parking fees. In the new financial year, we are reinforcing the strategies that worked and pushing for better system stability,” he added.
City Hall has always fallen short of its revenue targets since the inception of devolution in 2013. The highest own-source revenue numbers were recorded in 2015/2016, when the county collected a total of Sh11.7 billion against a target of Sh15.3 billion.
In the current financial year (2023/2024), Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration is seeking to raise Sh19.9 billion in own-source revenue. To achieve the target, the county government, through the Nairobi City County Finance Bill, 2023, has increased the number of levies.
The bill that is currently before the county assembly for consideration introduces automated parking where city motorists will be required to pay Sh100 for the first one hour and Sh50 for every hour afterwards. Motorists who park their cars in the non-automated areas will be required to pay Sh300 daily up from Sh200.
The loading and offloading zone fees have also been increased from Sh220, 000 to Sh250, 000.
The county also hopes to reap big from the markets sector and has introduced a daily cess of Sh2,500 while small-scale traders are required to pay Sh50 up from Sh30.
The licensing fees for alcoholic outlets have also been doubled to Sh50, 000 while the off-licence fee has been increased to Sh25, 000.
