Trans Nzoia County On The Spot Over Revenue Loss Through Illegal Paybill

Trans Nzoia County has come under scrutiny for losing Sh1.3 million in revenue collected through an unauthorized paybill number, 770478.

The issue came to light during an inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) into the county’s use of IFMIS and other revenue management systems.

The committee, led by Senator Allan Chesang, described the incident as an economic crime and called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to launch investigations.

Senator Chesang, who represents Trans Nzoia County, questioned the county’s revenue collection processes during the session, particularly regarding the role of county officials.

“We would like your technical team to show us the list of revenue collectors. We have observed County Executive Committee Members (CECs) collecting revenue,” Chesang remarked.

Responding to the concerns, Deputy County Secretary Boniface Wanyonyi, who represented Governor George Natembeya, denied direct involvement of CECs in revenue collection.

He explained that the CECs were only supervising operations under the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), which aimed to enhance compliance and boost revenue.

Wanyonyi added that staff were barred from collecting revenue during the RRI, with businesses urged to meet payment obligations.

The Senate ICT Committee directed the Trans Nzoia County Executive to provide documentation on the revenue collection processes within three days.

Senator Beatrice Ogolla raised alarm over the county’s lack of readiness to integrate its revenue systems with IFMIS, a move she argued would curb revenue leaks.

Senator Samson Cherarkey echoed her sentiments, urging counties to collaborate with the Council of Governors and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to develop unified revenue management systems.

Cherarkey highlighted Trans Nzoia’s underperformance in meeting revenue targets, collecting only Sh500 million against its potential of Sh1.3 billion as estimated by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA).

The committee has summoned Governor Natembeya to appear next week to address the alleged misuse of public funds.