The County Government of Laikipia targets to collect about Kes1.3 billion in own source revenue by the end of this 2022 to 2023 financial year amid the ravaging drought.
Laikipia Governor Mr Joshua Irungu has stated that his administration had enhanced strategies, including revenue automation, continuous engagement with taxpayers, revenue mapping, zero tolerance to revenue loss and monitoring to ensure the target is achieved.
“To achieve this, my administration recognizes that revenue growth will not be achieved by increasing our current rates but by ensuring that all citizens play their respective duties of paying various fees, rates and charges with minimal avoidance,” Irungu said.
Speaking to the Members of the County Assembly yesterday during the opening of the second session after recess, he revealed that in the first half of the Financial Year (FY) 2022/2023, which was coupled with an intense electioneering period and a depressed economy, the county managed to achieve about 94 per cent compared to a similar period in 2021-2022 FY.
“In the backdrop of an intense electioneering period and transition in the first half of the financial year, severe drought and a depressed economy, the collected revenue currently stands at Kes.453 million. This constitutes a comparative performance of 94 percent compared with a similar period performance which stood at Kes481 million,” he said.
He added,” This puts us well in sight to surpass the previous year’s performance as we aim to achieve our current year target.”
