County bags Sh160m in parking fee revenues
Parking fees collection for February rose to Sh160 million, a substantial increase from previous months.
March collection is expected to be even higher as matatus and taxis start paying the new rates.
Their tickets are seasonal; usually monthly or quarterly, and by the time the county started levying the new charges on February 5, they had already acquired their monthly tickets.
Matatus paid the new fees even as they continue to hope for reduced charges.
Motorists are projected to contribute to a Sh200 million bulge in the county coffers every month, according to the accountant in charge of car park Tom Tinega.
In January the collection improved from Sh63 million in April 2013 to Sh130 million.
Daily collections
The county however continues to face challenges in collection as unscrupulous workers continue to under report daily collections.
“Internal challenges exist with regard to the mode of collection and control measures to forestall possible loss of revenue through collusion,” said the county’s fiscal strategy paper.
This may see the county introduce an electronic car ticketing system in the next financial year to curb the losses. County Hall has been trying to move most of its payments to electronic platforms to reduce cash handling by staff.
Issuance of seasonal county tickets as well as single business permits has for example been taken up by the integrated technology platforms dubbed Huduma Kenya, an initiative of the Devolution Ministry.