Director of Revenue James Atemba said the total outstanding amount on land rates stands at Sh86 million and should be paid by November 30 for owners to secure their plots from repossession.
The targeted plots are found within Vihiga municipality that is undergoing a Sh1.25 billion face-lift through World Bank funding.
Owners of plots within urban areas in Vihiga County have until the end of this month to clear their outstanding rates that date back to the 1980s or risk losing the parcels to the devolved unit in a bid to recover the money.
Director of Revenue James Atemba said the total outstanding amount on land rates stands at Sh86 million and should be paid by November 30 for owners to secure their plots from repossession.
The move comes at a time when the Vihiga is seeking to activate the inactive land rates revenue stream that has not been operating due to lack of a valuation roll at a time when municipalities are springing up.
The targeted plots are found within Vihiga municipality that is undergoing a Sh1.25 billion face-lift through World Bank funding.
The municipality covers Mbale town - the county headquarters, Majengo, Vihiga, Chavakali, Mudete, and Gisambai.
Also targeted in the plan are plots at various townships of Shamakhokho, Serem, Luanda, Cheptulu, and Gambogi.
While most of the plots in various urban areas are in arrears from the 1980s, Mr Atemba said owners of parcels within Mbale town have been in debt since 2003 while Luanda's debts are unpaid since 1997.
The devolved unit issued a notice calling on the defaulters to clear the payments and directed them to sub-county revenue offices.
"All the plots with outstanding arrears at the expiry of the set timelines shall be repossessed by the county government of Vihiga," Mr Atemba said.
The official noted that Governor Wilber Ottichilo's administration is also reaching out to individual plot owners in the latest campaign to clear the arrears.
"We are advising them to get in touch with us because we are handling each case on its own merit. The target is mainly for plots in urban areas that are on leasehold and not freehold," Mr Atemba explained.
In February this year, Vihiga proposed to expedite the implementation of the valuation of land as part of boosting its revenue base.
The proposal was contained in the County Physical Strategy Paper, 2021 that was released in February.
In its 2019 risk assessment report, EACC put the Vihiga County government on the spot for lacking a valuation report, a move that had paved the way for pilferage in collections from land rates and single business permits.
EACC said then that it was impossible for the devolved unit to collect land rates in the absence of a valuation roll.
