Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o has put corrupt revenue collectors in the county on notice.
Addressing the press in Kisumu on Friday, Governor Nyong’o said that they have commissioned through investigations to ensure that culprits are nabbed and dealt with accordingly, including being sacked.
''I am so surprised that before devolution came in, the defunct Kisumu Municipal Authorities was able to collect up to Sh2.5 billion at times in a year,” said the County Chief.
“But soon after the devolution, the figure drastically reduced to Sh1.2 billion, and further came down to Sh900 million when the County governments came into operation,” he added.
The governor now wants to enlist the support of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to boost collection of revenue from the current Sh1.2 billion per year to the targeted amount of Sh4.5 billion annually.
''These glaring disparities in revenue collection points to theft. We must do all we can to avert this as soon as possible. This is why we want to partner with KRA,'' said the governor.
He said that there’s a possibility that someone was collecting and pocketing the cash and not remitting it to the County.
Governor Nyong'o recently emerged the best in a survey conducted in Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa counties.
Professor Nyong'o was voted the best performing governor in a study conducted by Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA), to establish the performance of counties bosses in the three devolved units.