Barasa warns cartels as Kakamega seeks to double own source revenue

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has put cartels at the agency charged with collecting revenue on notice, telling them their days were numbered.

Barasa said cartels at the Kakamega Revenue Collection Agency are sabotaging his efforts to improve own revenue collection.

The county is seeking to double its own source revenue from Sh1.2 billion last financial year to Sh2.4 billion in the next financial year.

During his swearing-in on September 15 last year, the governor said the county has the potential to collect more than Sh5 billion, based on reviews by the Commission on Revenue Allocation.

Speaking on Wednesday when he launched the distribution of farm inputs in Ikolomani, Barasa said dishonest staff at the revenue agency are frustrating efforts to improve the collection of own revenue.

“I have put in place elaborate mechanisms to seal any loophole that leads to revenue leakages in my efforts to raise our own revenue from Sh1.2 billion last year to Sh2.4 billion in the next financial year, but some  saboteurs are frustrating all these efforts,” he said.

He said he has formed a special county enforcement team to nab corrupt individuals in the county and the revenue agency.

Barasa said automation and digitisation of revenue collection will seal revenue leakages.

“We have strengthened the performance of our revenue streams by ensuring all payments to the county are cashless because we have been losing revenue at the collection and payment points,” he said.

Barasa said the finance and economic planning department has entered into a contract with Sense Networks Limited to design, instal, implement, commission and maintain a revenue collection and management platform to ensure efficiency.

He said the county is still focused on its long-term objective to raise its own source revenue to Sh5 billion.

KRCA CEO Aggrey Musindalo said the county government has procured a new revenue collection system that seeks to increase efficiency in revenue collection.

The system is expected to incorporate cashless payment platforms that include mobile payment systems for all major networks, magnetic stripe cards, e-wallets, USSD web portals, debit or credit cards, and digital wallet payments.

Musindalo said the county will deploy more resources to streams with huge potential.

He said health services, land rates, advertisements, plan approvals, and single business permits account for 80 per cent of the targeted revenue.

Last year, the county government passed Kakamega County Finance Bill 2021 into law, which levied charges on miners as royalties as part of the countywide plans to increase own revenue.