More revenue: City Hall to identify, register and value county properties

Nairobi will spend Sh70 million to enhance asset management services to increase revenue collection.

As part of the plan, City Hall will set up a Sh40 million asset register to identify all county-owned property. Thus, it will also identify grabbed public land. 

It will track and measure the most critical and essential as well as non-essential assets and compile them. Then valuation will begin.

The plan, under the Public Finance Management Programme, is contained in the county's annual development plan for the year ending June 30, 2023.

Acting county secretary Jairus Musumba said the county's assets changed when devolution began in 2013, thus the need to register assets.

“When Nairobi shifted from a city council to a county government, the total number of county properties might not have been captured during the transition. An asset register will map out and update the number of assets," he said.

All chief officers across all departments will be in charge of their sectors' assets.

After compilation, Governor Ann Kananu's administration will begin  valuation of key assets. The valuation process will cost Sh30 million.

“By having a survey of key assets, the county will have an accurate valuation register,” the plan reads.

The city lacks an asset management policy. The finance department will form an inclusive Asset Management Committee to formulate a policy.

The county will then digitise the asset management register, linking all assets to the Geographical Information System (GIS).

Early this year, City Hall announced it had developed a system to capture, store, analyse, manage and present all types of geographical data.

The city will start integrating the county’s key services, such as revenue collection.

Lands and urban planning executive Charles Kerich said the system will be integrated with key sectors and revenue systems before it goes live.

“At the moment, the GIS is still computer-based and needs to be linked with data from various sectors at the county government. Once it goes live, parking, business permits, rates among other revenue streams will take precedence,” Kerich said.

The GIS system will make it easier to access digitised information.

(Edited by V. Graham)