Majority leader sponsors revenue Bill to enhance county collection

Garissa

Thursday July 27, 2023

KNA by Jacob Songok

The Garissa County Assembly Majority Leader Abubakar Khalif has sponsored the County Revenue Administration and Management Bill 2023 which will enhance the collection and accountability of all revenue by the county government.

According to the Galbet ward MCA, loss of revenue due to several loopholes and lack of accountability has been the biggest undoing to the enhancement of revenue collection in the county.

Speaking to KNA in his office today, Khalif said the revenue administration and management bill provides a system for collecting, receiving and accounting for taxes, fees and charges in the County.

He said that the bill will confer a general power and responsibility for the administration of county revenue laws on a public officer who is to be held accountable for that administration.

To achieve the above purpose, the Bill sets out additional relevant administrative and enforcement provisions relating to revenue legislation. The enactment of this Bill will occasion additional expenditure of public funds.

The MCA said that the current assembly is committed to ensuring that it delivers on its mandate of representation, oversight and legislation.

Other bills that are lined up for debate include the Garissa County Environmental Restoration and Livelihood Improvement Bill 2023 and the Garissa County Ward Development Fund Bill 2023.

The ward development fund seeks to provide a framework for the establishment of the Garissa County Ward Development Fund and the establishment of administrative structures to oversee the management of the Fund.

It also seeks to provide a framework for the determination of projects that are to be implemented through the Fund by the county government and an oversight mechanism to ensure the efficient and proper use of the funds and implementation of the projects.

The Bill further principally seeks to promote the decentralization of development within the county by identifying projects that are beneficial to the residents of the respective wards and the county generally and providing a framework for the implementation of such projects.

“The previous assemblies have been blamed for doing little in terms of oversight and legislation. I want to assure members of the public that this will be a different house,” he said.

“We may be quick to blame the assembly for doing little in terms of oversight and legislation, but I want to blame this on the ethnic division that was deep-rooted. It impacted negatively on our work,” he said.

The MCA said that there were members who were capable of executing their mandates as enshrined in the constitution ‘but the tribal lines affected the performance’.

Courtesy ; K. N. A