Uasin Gishu County deputy governor Daniel Chemno has said that traders who were kicked out from Eldoret main market to pave way for renovations owe the county over Sh35 million unpaid taxes.
Chemno said hawkers who own stalls in the market have been boycotting paying taxes for the last 10 years.
"Hawkers have not been paying taxes in the last 10 years. Some of them have rented the stalls at a low fee but they have been evading paying taxes,” he said.
He accused the hawkers of boycotting payment of taxes.
"We have witnessed low revenue collection in the county because hawkers with stalls at the market are rude and not paying taxes as required. No hawker will be allowed to operate in the market without paying the taxes to increase revenue collection in the county to ensure there is improved service delivery in the county,” said Chemno.
He urged county revenue collectors not to favour traders when collecting revenue for the county.
"County revenue collectors should not favour anyone while on duty. We need good revenue to enable the county to run its operations well,” said Chemno on Wednesday when he visited the market to inspect the ongoing renovations.