Homa Bay county government has listed some loopholes that prevent the devolved unit from meeting its target in revenue collection.
A preliminary report handed over to Governor Gladys Wanga listed low integrity among staff, ineffective revenue administration structure, manipulation of the electronic system and poor debt collection as some of the challenges bedeviling revenue collection.
Two weeks ago, Wanga formed a task force on revenue administration to help streamline the system to get optimal revenue mobilisation.
Wanga also issued a directive stopping the collection of revenue for 15 days from September 14 to give the task force an opportunity to carry out its preliminary work.
Wanga said Homa Bay has the capacity to collect at least Sh1 billion in a financial year should all the leakages and loopholes be sealed.
“We’re capable of collecting revenues that can help us pay workers and address other financial challenges. Despite all these, Homa Bay is still ranked among the counties with low collections,” Wanga said.
According to the Revenue Allocation Commission, Homa Bay is ranked among the counties collecting less than 20 per cent of estimated revenue potential with respect to own source revenue.
Speaking to journalists at the county office headquarters on Wednesday, Wanga together with her deputy Oyugi Magwanga agreed to extend tax exemption by seven days to allow the taskforce prepare the measures to improve tax collection by Sh887.3 million in a financial year.
Also present was acting county secretary Donald Ogweno.
“My administration is extending the tax exemption by seven days. We’ll put in place immediate remedial measures to reverse this trend, once the final report is released,” she said.
Revenue collections in Homa Bay are also obstructed by written and verbal MoUs, pre-election informal declarations and lack of a mechanism to collect revenue from national government agencies.
Others are weak audit programme, static property valuation roll, vulnerable cash-based system and lack of corresponding by-laws to the Finance Act 2022.
“We have realised that there are some influential people within and without the county government who interfere with the enforcement of the revenue collection system,” Wanga said.
According to Wanga, the Commission on Revenue Allocation has discovered that Homa Bay is collecting 35 per cent less than the revenue that the local authority used to collect in the county in the financial year before devolution.
She argued that the county collects local revenue of Sh136.8 million in a financial year.
She asked Homa Bay residents to cooperate and help her administration to streamline the system and boost revenue collection.
The county government will introduce a cashless system of revenue collection.
“The measures will be aimed at sealing loopholes which lead to pilferage of county revenue,” she said.
She assured the revenue collection officers will not be sacked but some of them will be redeployed, adding that they should be ready to work in any place they are assigned.
“We must be ready to collect revenue appropriately to enable our county get the required funds to run our affairs,” she said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
