There is paralysis at City Hall over printing of licenses and certificates amid deadlock over revenue collection between Nairobi County government and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), The Informer can authoritatively reveal.
The disagreements have been occasioned by a tug of war between the county government on one side and KRA alongside the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) headed by Major General Mohamed Badi on the other side.
The crisis is so dire that KRA agents are making direct telephone calls to business owners to pay directly through KRA portal for the renewal of licenses and certificates.
“Kenya Revenue Authority is the revenue collecting agent for the Nairobi County government. Pay through the portal.
If you have paid at City Hall, go to Times Towers (KRA) headquarters, banking hall section with the invoices so that you can be transferred to the new system.” One of the KRA agents told one of the business owners.
Further, investigations by The Informer established that City Hall is yet to offset a debt owed to the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) amounting to tens of millions occasioning the crisis.
Yesterday, while reached for comment over the paralysis that has seen entrepreneurs harassed in inspection swoops despite having paid requisite fees, Nairobi Governor Anne Kananu did not respond to queries sent through short text messages.
“We have made payments at City Hall. They are only issuing us with the payment receipts but not licenses certificates. KRA on the other hand is telling us not to make payments at City Hall.
This is an administrative failure by the governor, KRA and NMS. We want the national government to pronounce itself over this unfortunate crisis.” Gilbert Owino, a business owner in the city retorted.
In 2020, when the former impeached Nairobi governor Mike Sonko signed the Deed of Transfer of the county government functions to the national government, KRA was appointed as the revenue collecting agent.
Recently, his predecessor Kananu signed to extend the Deed of Transfer by nine months citing unfinished projects by NMS.
Sonko handed over the functions of the county to the national government two years ago citing Article 187 of the Constitution.
Sonko and the then Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, now CS Ministry of Defence signed the agreement at State House, Nairobi, in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, Attorney General Paul Kihara and then acting county secretary Justus Kathenge.