•Ntoiti welcomed his new assignment and pledged to deliver on his mandate.
•To boost Nairobi’s revenue collection, Sakaja’s administration has set up a revenue agency that will be tasked with collecting all rates, fees and charges.
Image: Handout
Following the retirement of Shaban Asman, Nairobi county has a new director for revenue.
John Ntoiti has been appointed to the position in an acting capacity by the County Executive Committee Member Charles Kerich.
In a statement on Friday, Kerich stated that Ntoiti comes in at a time when the county is transitioning its revenue operations to the recently formed Nairobi Revenue Authority.
The Finance boss expressed that he has confidence in Ntoiti to lead the county revenue team and to deal with the county’s clients respectfully and efficiently.
"Ntoiti brings a wealth of experience to the new assignment and his task is clear: to ensure the county realises its revenue targets to provide services to the residents of Nairobi,” Kerich said.
The new acting Director will work under the County Chief Officer for Revenue, Wilson Gakuya, to assist the county in realising its annual revenue targets.
Ntoiti welcomed his new assignment and pledged to deliver on his mandate.
He also pledged to put the needs of the customer first, to give the county government’s clients an experience when seeking services
The Authority is expected to kick off full operations this year.
Ntoiti is not a stranger to the revenue sector as he has served various positions at City Hall over the years
The 53-year-old has previously worked as a Chief Officer in Nairobi County from 2014 to 2018 and as chairman of revenue mobilisation from 2006 to 2014.
In Meru, Ntoiti served as the CEO of the Meru County Revenue Board.
He holds a PhD in finance from JKUAT, an MBA in Finance from Kenyatta University and a Degree in Economics from Moi University.
Nairobi County aims to collect Sh19.9 billion own source revenue in the financial year 2023-24.
This is part of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s Sh40.7 billion proposed Nairobi City County Budget estimates.
To boost Nairobi’s revenue collection, Sakaja’s administration has set up a revenue agency that will be tasked with collecting all rates, and fees.
The Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Authority will be headed by a board, while the management will be under a chief executive officer, who will be the principal collector of revenue.
The authority will breathe life into the Revenue Administration Act, which was passed by the county assembly in 2019 and assented to in 2021.
Sakaja is set to implement the Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Authority.
The Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Bill was initiated by Kariobangi South MCA Robert Mbatia and assented to by ex-governor Ann Kananu on September 14, 2021.
It has, however, never been implemented mainly due to the deed of transfer from March 2020 to November last year that put KRA in charge of revenue.
With his administration now in place, Governor Sakaja believes Nairobi can collect its revenue.
"Growth is inevitable and we had to move from the Nairobi Revenue System, which was brought by KRA because Nairobi now has its capacity to have its revenue," he said.
The Act is aimed at sealing loopholes and making revenue collection moves on an upward scale.
It seeks to solve all inadequacies and capacity challenges that have led to low revenue collection since devolution.
The Act further suggests the establishment of the County Revenue Authority to be headed by a County Revenue Administrator competitively recruited by the Public Service Board.
The administrator shall hold office for five years and will be eligible for reappointment for a further and final term of five years.
There will also be a board of directors, headed by a non-executive chairperson appointed by the governor with the approval of the county assembly, which shall serve as the governing council of the revenue authority.
The board would also consist of a finance chief officer, four other people appointed by the executive, a member from special interest groups and a county revenue administrator who shall be an ex-officio member.
The board members’ term shall be three years but subject to renewal once.
Andrew Chege was nominated to the position by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja via a gazette notice dated April 24, 2023, alongside seven other members who will sit on the Nairobi City County Revenue Authority Board.
They include Wilson Gakuya (County Chief Officer of Revenue), Mary Gesare (Kenya Association of Manufactures), Wanjirtu Gikonyo (Special Interest Groups), Ronald Kibaara (Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Irene Otieno (National Taxpayers Association).
Others are Carolyne Mutheu (Law Society of Kenya) and Shaban Asman, a county revenue administrator who will be an ex-officio member.