The investigation of hidden revenue in Nairobi County –and whether they were misappropriated— should be thorough to address the leakage that has been revealed and stop such from recurring.
The Auditor-General has revealed that the county did not declare Sh18.46 billion of revenue collected from individuals and businesses between 2016 and 2019.
The upshot is that some of the cash collected by City Hall was simply hidden. This was clearly by design and it is fitting that the Senate has called for a forensic audit of the opaque transactions which straddled the administrations of former governors Evans Kidero and Mike Sonko.
If it is established that the money was misappropriated, legal action should be taken to recover the funds besides punishing those found culpable.
To ignore the matter will be tantamount to aiding impunity and insulting taxpayers who expect that the money they pay to City Hall will be used to improve services.
The local revenue should supplement funds received from the national government to deliver the services required by citizens including sanitation, infrastructure and healthcare.
Some have even argued that counties have the potential to raise revenue rivalling or exceeding their allocations from the central government.
It is therefore shocking that Nairobi County officials have been going against their fiduciary duty, exposing taxpayers to the risk of massive losses.
A reputable forensic audit firm should be hired to lead the investigations which must not be subject to the usual political games and blame games.
