Legislators root for integrated county revenue collection system
National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee is pushing the government to fast track the establishment of a unified county revenue collection system for all counties.
In a report on the Budget Policy Statement (BPS), the MPs want both national and county governments to complete the project and help tame loss of funds in the devolved units.
“The National Treasury, Kenya Revenue Authority, Commission of Revenue Allocation and Council of Governors should fast track the development of an integrated county revenue management system for unified revenue collection for all counties,” said the MPs in the report on the BPS.
Government has only been able to push for accountability with regard to disbursed funds but has been unable to monitor revenues collected at the grass root level.
This comes as counties have been given the green lights to raise funds through county bonds.
Management of county revenue will, therefore, help debt issuers to be able to judge the ability of counties to pay back their debt.
Most counties have been unable to explain loss of funds running into billions that has made county governments portals of corruption.
Move will help the government to manage county debts, which the International Monetary Fund had asked that it be added to the National Public debt.
Target achievers
Only three of the 47 counties met their revenue targets during the first quarter of the 2020/21 Financial Year amid a cash crunch occasioned by delayed approval of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2020 by the Senate.
A report by the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o (pictured) showed Kirinyaga met its own-source-revenue target during the first three months after collecting Sh92 million.
Migori managed Sh60.3 million with Tana River closing the bracket of target achievers at Sh19 million. During the same period, the 47 local governments cumulative own source revenue also dipped from Sh7.7 billion to Sh5.9 billion.
Nyakang’o said this was 11 per cent of the annual target of Sh53 billion to be received from own sources.
During the months of July, August and September 2020, only 15 of the 47 counties managed to collect over Sh100 million through local revenue.
