The Meru County government is digitising all its revenue data to enable cashless payment of fees and licenses under its 24 income streams.
Meru County Revenue Board (MCRB) Chief Executive Officer Edward Macharia said the county's revenue collections are expected to triple to Sh1 billion after all income streams are added to the new cashless system.
“Currently, we are working on digitising the land rates and plot rates which are largely manual. This will be possible after the lands department finalises the development of a county valuation roll,” he said.
“In the current financial year, we are eyeing to raise up to Sh600 million up from Sh384 million in the previous year. This is because the new revenue system has improved features that enable for real-time monitoring of payments and personnel,” the CEO said.
In the cashless system, all service fees are paid including parking, single business permits, cess, market fees, property rent, advertising fees, branding fees, and distribution fees among others are paid for via a USSD code.
The MCRB general manager Francis Mungai said the revenue system also gives visibility of defaulters easing enforcement of revenue collection across the county.
He said the board alone is capable of collecting more than Sh1 billion after the full digitisation of land rates.
In the previous year, the Meru County government's own-source revenue, including hospital fees and alcoholic drinks licenses, stood at Sh1.03 billion.
“The board is owed more than Sh500 million in land rates alone. This is because it has been difficult to enforce payment without an updated valuation roll. Automation of land rates will significantly boost local revenue,” Mr Mungai said.
