Sakaja unleashes askaris to boost revenue collection in Nairobi
Each of the county officers will be equipped with a legitimate staff ID card with a QR code that business owners can scan to confirm the identity of the enforcement officer.
The Nairobi City County government has deployed compliance and enforcement teams to all the 17 sub-counties in a bid to meet its Sh20 billion revenue target as the current financial year draws to a close.
On Tuesday, City Hall deployed the officers who will visit business premises to ensure that each of them has complied with the directive to obtain a Unified Business Permit (UBP) and other relevant permits after a three-month grace period.
The county government's strategy is similar to that adopted by the Kenya Revenue Authority when it deployed 1,406 enforcement officers to ensure compliance. However, the deployment was quashed by the High Court.
Each of the county officers will be equipped with a legitimate staff ID card with a QR code that business owners can scan to confirm the identity of the enforcement officer.
The team will check for compliance with payment of land rates, parking fees, UBP, building permits and approvals, billboards, advertisements and market service charges including cess.
The officers will also be responsible for checking fire certificates, medical and health certificates and other fees as stipulated in the Finance Act 2024.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said his administration will also go the extra mile by publishing the names of the officers in local dailies and on the county website to protect city residents from unscrupulous individuals.
"The names and contact details of the teams will be published in the dailies and on the district website to prevent impostors. The officers will soon have identity cards with a QR code that members of the public can scan to verify their legitimacy," Mr Sakaja said.
The county governor also said the county had streamlined the UBP system since its introduction in January and urged traders to comply.
"In January 2024, I launched the Unified Business Permit (UBP) and directed that there be no enforcement for a period of three months to allow Nairobians to get used to the new licensing regime. During these three months, we have streamlined our identification process, which will have properly uniformed officers with equipment that can determine the status and validity of UBPs," he added.
The teams will be made up of officers from the sub-county administration and revenue officials. Those who fail to pay their dues will be arrested.
The new measure is seen as an effort by the county government to meet its own revenue target of Sh20 billion for the current financial year.
During the state of the county address, Mr Sakaja also said the county was also planning to regularise developments in the county government.
"We are going to regularise development to correct the urban planning lapses of the past and to facilitate collection. We will also implement the Sectional Properties Act to enable owners of property units, whether apartments or offices, to acquire title deeds. This will protect property owners from the risk of losing their hard-earned assets when the leases on their title deeds expire," Mr Sakaja said.
