Knock! Knock! Pay Your Tax.

Timothy Kiplimo

Uasin Gishu county government has kick-started sensitization exercise geared towards improving revenue collection in the county.

 

The exercise flagged off by Uasin Gishu governor Dr. Jonathan Bii Chelilim is intended to create awareness among the public, especially business people in Uasin Gishu on the tenets of paying their revenue in time, for county government to get sufficient funds to spur development.

 

“Whatever we do will always promote or bring us down, especially on matters touching on finance, revenue and anything to do with money, if we are not careful that report we get is just corruption… corruption, then we will not go anywhere…” said Dr. Chelilim.

During the last financial year, Uasin Gishu county collected a total of shs 1.4 billion from own source revenue, meeting 90% of projected revenue.

 

The rise in revenue collection has been attributed to automation of revenue collection that has greatly sealed corruption loopholes and pilferage.

 

“We must acknowledge and appreciate the idea of automation, because it is making sure that all our services are loaded in one digital app…” Noted Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Evans Kapkea.

The county now intends to onset training and giving incentives to revenue officers who exhibit excellence in revenue collection as a way of motivating them to work hard.

 

However, governor Chelilim has urged revenue officers to handle business people in a humane way and avoid any form of violence.

“You are not kanjos, you are revenue officers and I urge you not to harass business people. Approach them wearing a smile like mine but do not over smile…” added Chelilim

 

According to Uasin Gishu county revenue director CPA Jonah Lamai, more still need to be done to address shortfalls in revenue collection and meet revenue target.

 

“Why is it that parking, which is suppose to be number five is number one in the county government of Uasin Gishu instead of health services that actually leads and has a potential of collecting up to shs 600 million?”- lamented Lamai.

 

Revenue department in Uasin Gishu county has strategized its revenue collection into three components to help them achieve their shs 1.6 billion target this financial year.

 

First one is 8020 rule where you target 20% of revenue collection jurisdiction to get 80% of revenue collection; second is target approach, where get data and target revenue sources and the third being stakeholders’ engagement.