Yesterday Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and his executive officers (speaking from Mombasa!) defended their financial performance despite revenue falling steadily (see P23).
From 2013 to 2017, under Governor Evans Kidero, Nairobi collected around Sh11.6 billion a year. Since 2017, the county has been collecting just over Sh10 billion annually. Now collections are falling further following the cancellation of the JamboPay contract.
Yesterday in Mombasa, the county executives blamed everyone except themselves but still promised to collect Sh17 billion this year (fat chance!).
Nairobi county is profoundly dysfunctional. There is still no deputy governor. County executives and officials are constantly suspended and reshuffled. The JamboPay contract was cancelled without a proper alternative in place.
Nairobi does not need kneejerk reactions, it needs proper systems.
Yesterday the Finance executive said the property valuation roll was last revised in 1980 and Nairobi could easily hit its revenue targets if it was updated. But that begs the question, why has it not been updated?
Nairobi needs consistent professional management. Governor Sonko needs to move away from his erratic micro-managing and allow competent professionals to rebuild the county's revenue base.
Quote of the day: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
President Abraham Lincoln He delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863
