Nairobi County’s Governor Mike Sonko is out to make sure that all revenue collection in the devolved city see a significant boost by automating all revenue streams. The motivation behind this implementation is based on the KES 7 that City Hall had not banked in a random visit made by the City’s new Governor. As of yesterday, the office is collecting twice as much of the 7 million cap that it used to bank.
Most of the 47 counties have already ditched manual revenue collection for automated systems in a move that has contributed to enhanced income streams, as well as the provision of services. At the same time, corruption, which is often rampant when dealing with cash has been reduced considerably as efficiency is harnessed in line with financial policies that should handle revenue leakages and other gaps in county governments.
The County is tightening its grip on the JamboPay-powered eJijiPay platform that allows resident to make electronic payments for multiple services such as parking. City dwellers are encouraged to pay for any services via mobile money solutions. Afterward, transactions are reflected on the eJijiPay. For instance, parking attendants have been instructed not to take cash from motorists, which is a good move if enforced. Most of the work will be done by the user, and a confirmation ID will phase out account reconciliation that is time-consuming. It has also been reported that more than 2000 vehicles had not paid their parking dues.
The City has more than 136 revenue streams that need to be automated, and only 14 have been digitized so far. Apparently, there is a long way to go, which is why the utilization of ICT has to come in to bridge the gap between the City’s taxes owed and taxes collected. Similar to what it has done with eJijiPay, Nairobi County is looking forward to self-service by enhancing voluntary compliance and convenience through e-payment platforms. This is going to be augmented by the deployment of performance pointers in tracking, analyzing and acting upon non-compliance in a timely manner, in addition to leveraging data to research and boost compliance measures.
We hope this development will enhance revenue collection with proper billing via e-payments through a single payment gateway.
