The County government of Kisumu is targeting to collect about Kes 2.5 billion in the 2023/24 financial year as it goes cashless in revenue collection.

According to Kisumu County Revenue Board Chairman Hezron Makobewa, starting this year, they launched an integrated revenue management system for the unstructured revenue streams in the county.

Speaking to the press in Kisumu on Tuesday during an impromptu visit to the revenue collators in the markets, he said the system targets markets, bus parks, parking, CESS, stock rings, slaughters, and clamping.

Further, he said the system will enhance overall revenue collection and identify all untapped streams, enhancing accountability and integrity in revenue management.

“One of the reasons why the county wants to be a leader in this is that we want to actually collect this year between Kes 2.2 to Kes 2.5 billion,” he said.

Makobewa says increasing the tax base in the county will make the county resourceful and reliant on service delivery to the people.

The county collected below Kes 1.2 billion in the last financial year, with Makobewa saying the new system will push the figure twofold.

 Makobewa says they are heavily borrowing from Nairobi County which has gone cashless and will soon launch unified business permits.

“We are piloting this and it will go live in one week or two. If you are running a hotel facility, you pay for your single business permit, you pay for your outdoor permit, fire inspection, public health, all bundled in a single invoice,” he said.

The county has contracted Safaricom as the service provider for the integrated revenue management system.

Makobewa is optimistic that the system will seal loopholes in revenue collection.

In the recent past, the county was losing millions of shillings through cash collection, and the new system is bound to meet the target.