The Mombasa county government on Wednesday was feted as the best county with automated revenue collection.
The award in recognition of “Growth in Own Source of Revenue” by the Commission on Revenue Allocation saw Mombasa surpass Kiambu and Laikipia counties to emerge tops.
“The county has automated the Single Business Permit and the E-construction services and is in the process of digitising the public service vehicle monthly parking fees,” Governor Hassan Joho said.
He said the automation has reduced revenue leaks and eased doing business in Mombasa.
This has seen improvement in revenue collection from 1.7 million in the 2013-14 financial year to Sh2.4 billion in 2014-15 and Sh2.9 billion in 2015-16, representing 18 per cent growth, Joho said during the award ceremony at the Whitesands Hotel.
“This great achievements was realised through the great efforts of our dedicated staff.” He said when they started automating the county services, their focus was not on the revenue collection, but rather coming up with systems that work.
Joho added that county governments must improve their revenue collection systems.
“By increasing our local revenue collection, we are able to invest in the well-being of residents by investing in infrastructure, which opens up the county to a multitude of business opportunities,” the governor said.
Kiambu Governor William Kabogo, whose county came in second,said they have automated almost all their services. He said with the new systems, its revenue will rise.