It is an issue of loopholes that have not been tightened, or for lack of a better word, corruption.
You realise that the counties have the revenue targets, even during their budgeting, they project very high collections, but they do not achieve that.
This is an indication of a calculated expectation, so that they know what they want but they frustrate it.
The other thing is the incompetence of revenue collectors.
People who are supposed to collect revenues do not have the qualifications and experience to ensure that revenue targets are achieved.
In our committee, sometimes when we interrogate some of these things, we realise that some of the staff do not have the experience and qualifications required to collect revenue.
This is a big problem because even the accountability of the funds that they collect cannot be assured.
In a nutshell, there could be a lot of loopholes; that money is coming but it’s not hitting the right account or is being pocketed or spent at source.
That is why as a committee, we have proposed a centralised integrated revenue collection system.
This system is being worked on, and already there is a committee in the National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority that is working on this.
This system needs to be finalised so all this money can be collected through the assistance of KRA.
If counties like Nairobi would concentrate on their own source revenue collection, they would not even need the equitable share from the national government.
For Nairobi, their target is almost equivalent to their equitable share from the treasury. This is about Sh19 billion.
So, the issue is that there are so many loopholes. Money is collected but it does not get to the counties.
Because of political issues and human resource laws, people who are already employed cannot be sacked overnight.
Some of these people dash to the labour courts and they are reinstated.
So, how will the looting of revenue stop when it is the same people running the system every year, and they cannot be sacked.
Our judicial processes are taking so long. Where we recommend prosecution, the process is taking so long.
The Senate Finance and Budget Committee chairperson spoke to the Star
