County plans to charge Sh180,000 as annual ground rent for a billboard on a road reserve and Sh120,000 for a billboard on private property. Tourism Executive for Mombasa County Antony Njaramba (left) go through the proposed budget for tourism with Heritage Hotels CEO Mohammed Hersi (centre) & Sam Ikwaye, the CEO Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers & Caterers (KAHC) during a tourism stakeholders forum in Mombasa on November 28. Photo/Kevin Odit
What you need to know:
The county’s Finance Bill proposes to charge Sh100,000 for billboards development, up from Sh10,000, while the billboard application fee would rise from Sh2,000 to Sh75,000
Mombasa county has revised its budget from Sh21.7 billion to Sh11 billion after the Controller of Budget rejected the initial outlay because it had a deficit of Sh9.6 billion
Mombasa County plans to increase the fees charged for billboards tenfold in a bid to raise revenue and enhance service delivery.
The county’s Finance Bill proposes to charge Sh100,000 for billboards development, up from Sh10,000, while the billboard application fee would rise from Sh2,000 to Sh75,000.
County finance executive Walid Khalid said the higher advertisement fees would help boost revenue collection.
Mombasa county has revised its budget from Sh21.7 billion to Sh11 billion after the Controller of Budget rejected the initial outlay because it had a deficit of Sh9.6 billion.
Traders have reacted sharply to the increase, with the leading tourism lobby asking the county government to cut its operational costs that were hurting businesses through hefty taxation.
“The county bosses should know that exorbitant fees will make Mombasa an expensive county for doing business and investments,” said Mombasa and Coast Tourism Association chairman Mohamed Hersi.
He said revenue collected from advertisements would drop sharply.
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa county executive officer James Kitavi said the increase could scare away potential investors and hinder job creation.
The county plans to charge Sh180,000 as annual ground rent for a billboard on a road reserve and Sh120,000 for a billboard on private property.
The cost of advertisements on bus shelters is proposed to shoot from Sh15,000 to Sh40,000 per year while stickers will cost Sh15,000 per fortnight from Sh6,000. Filling station branding will go from Sh70,000 to Sh100,000.
Airborne advertisements on aircrafts or balloons are set to increase from Sh5,000 to Sh20,000 per fortnight while display of flags on product advertisements will rise to Sh10,000 up from Sh2,600.
Charges for branded umbrellas will be Sh15,000 up from Sh500 per month, four-sided clocks will cost Sh30,000 per year up from Sh25,000, while charges for lamp post advertisements are expected to increase from Sh15,000 to Sh25,000 per year.
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