Subject: Inefficiencies and delays in the delivery of the County Government services

THAT, aware that Article 232 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Kenya as read together with Section 7 (1) of the Public Service (Values and Principles) Act, 2015 provides that public services shall be provided promptly, effectively, impartially, and equitably; further aware that Section 56 of the County Governments Act, 2012 requires each County Government to establish its own public service responsible for delivering county government services across various departments; recognizing that pursuant to Section 46 of the County Governments Act, 2012, the Nairobi City County Government has created various departments for purposes of performing County Government functions; noting that in the recent past, there have been unwarranted delays in the provision of public services by the County Government of Nairobi City, characterized by;-
  • Failures in service payment systems such that service seekers make payments for various taxes, charges, levies, and license fees at various payment points but the payments take longer periods than expected to reflect and get acknowledged by the County Treasury or County Government departments and the subsequent issuance of receipts thus delaying their access to a County service;
  • Delays in the settlement of dues owed to service providers and suppliers of goods and services due to an unreliable payment system adopted by the County Treasury;
  • Delays in the issuance of development approvals for a period spanning up to six (6) months or more after the application is lodged and the requisite payments are made thus inconveniencing property developers who end up incurring huge losses, especially those with commercial loans;
  • Unreliable revenue collection system that is shrouded in secrecy with little control by the County Government thus leading to unaccountability in revenue collection and potential loss of revenues, hence affecting overall service delivery; and,
  • General lethargy among County Government departments;
Now therefore, in order to address the said inefficiency, the County Assembly resolves that:
  1. The County Treasury adopts a service payment system that will shield service seekers from unnecessary delays, instantly acknowledge receipt of service fee payments made, and allow various departments to issue receipts and offer services paid for in the event of a system downturn. Alternative measures must be put in place to ensure the seamless provision of services;
  2. All payments to service providers and suppliers of goods and services should be decentralized o respective sectors or departments and executed by sector or departmental accountants through the Online Purchase Order under IFMIS, and eradicating the manual LPO system to ensure efficiency and accountability;
  3. The Physical Planning department should take deliberate steps to ensure timely processing of development approvals and undertake to clear all pending approvals within the next three months of the adoption of this Motion and submit a report to the County Assembly;
  4. That the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning should; first disclose to the County Assembly the automated revenue collection system currently in place, and secondly, demonstrate that the system is foolproof, under the control of the County Government, and can generate instant reports for audit and accountability within the next one month of adoption of this Motion and submit a report to the County Assembly; and,
  5. That each County Government sector, department, or agency should develop a service charter, share it with the public, and submit the same to the County Assembly within three) months of the adoption of this Motion
  Amendment: Inclusion of the paragraph 6;- 6. That the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning, in conjunction with the Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Authority, should expedite the drafting of rules and regulations pursuant to Section 44 of the Nairobi City County Revenue Administration Act, 2019 for effective implementation of the Act.”
Notice of Motion 22nd June, 2023
Mover Hon. Paul Kados, MCA & Deputy Speaker
Seconder Hon. Silas Matara, MCA
Division
Dates Debated and/or Concluded 3rd October, 2023
Remarks Approved with amendment
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