Nairobi County Faces Scrutiny Over Secondment of KRA Officials Amid Revenue Decline

In a move that has sparked controversy and raised eyebrows among Nairobi County officials, the secondment of nine officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to City Hall has come under scrutiny by the Adhoc Committee on the Decline of Revenue in Nairobi County. Led by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, the committee has voiced concerns over the lack of transparency and formal approval surrounding this decision.

“The letter by the Governor was a request and KRA accepted. We moved after KRA did a letter approving the secondment,” stated Sylvester Okello, legal adviser at KRA, defending the presence of the seconded officials at City Hall.

Former Mayor and Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa characterized the move as an unofficial extension of the Deed of Transfer, emphasizing that no formal extension was presented to the assembly. He labeled the decision as illegal and questioned the validity of a letter purportedly granting KRA the authority to extend their tenure at City Hall.

“That was an illegality. There was no extension brought to this assembly by the Governor. A letter with a signature cannot be purported to give KRA the leeway to extend their star after the end of the Nairobi Metropolitan Service tenure,” Majiwa asserted.

In defense of their presence at City Hall, Annastacia Githuba, Deputy Commissioner of the County Revenue Division, explained that their secondment was approved by the KRA board following the governor’s request.

“These people used to work during the NMS tenure and he might have gone through the qualifications and settled on them,” Acting County Secretary Patrick Analo justified the selection of the officials, highlighting their capabilities and experience gained during the NMS tenure.

However, concerns were raised regarding the absence of a framework to guide the engagement of these officials.

“The framework needed further consultation, therefore at the moment we are operating without a framework,” confessed Sylvester Okello, KRA legal adviser, regarding the lack of an existing framework.

Moreover, questions lingered about the source of salary for the seconded officials, as it was revealed that City Hall had not processed any payments due to the absence of a legally binding document.

“Upto date we have not processed any payment because we have no legally binding document to make us pay them,” clarified County Executive for Finance Charles Kerich.

Another issue raised was the lack of access to the Nairobi Revenue System servers by both County executive officers and KRA officials.

“I only had access to the dashboard and that’s how I would hold revenue officers accountable when NMS was in existence. But I have no access to the server, don’t know where it is located nor its colour,” stated Anastacia Githuba, Deputy Commissioner of the County Revenue Division, regarding the restricted access to the system.

As the discussions continue, stakeholders emphasize the importance of establishing clear frameworks and protocols to govern the engagement of external officials and ensure efficient revenue management for the county’s development and sustainability.