Nairobi — Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has suspended the collection of revenue in the county for 15 days to help find the loopholes that affect the effective collection of revenue.
Wanga noted that the measure had to be taken as some unscrupulous county officers tasked with collecting revenue perfected deceit and unfaithfulness in their work which resulted in a significant drop in the revenue collected.
“The collection of revenues for the categories of enterprises set out in the first and second schedules of the Finance Act 2022, relating to markets, markets users charges, offloading charges, transportation of quarry materials, and fees for impounded articles be and are hereby waived and all suspended with effect from September 14 for a period of 15 days,” stated Wanga.
The county boss further directed all county officers mandated to collect revenue to report to the Chief Officer of Finance and Planning with all their tools of trade for further advice.
To help seal the loopholes that have resulted in a drop in the county’s revenue, Wanga appointed a 13-member multi-agency taskforce that will be chaired by financial specialist Polycarp Okombo to investigate and undertake a forensic audit of the county revenue collection and management system.
“Within a period of 21 days from the date of their appointment, the multi-agency task force will submit its initial report to my office in accordance with its term of reference,” she stated.
She further reiterated that the tax holiday is in line with her campaign promise of leading a clean and open government that is committed to the rule of law and timely provision of much-needed services to its citizenry.
“What we want is an audit. The team we have set up together with people that will support them to audit that system. We have seen a fluctuation that points out to a breach,” added Wanga.
Wanga noted that Homa Bay has the potential of surpassing its yearly revenue target of Sh350million to reach Sh1billion if the county revenue collection system is streamlined and all the loopholes that have led to the drop in revenue sealed.