“Can you pay my bills? I don’t think you do. So you and me are through.” Destiny’s Child sang these words in 1999. The group was singing about a man whose days in a relationship are numbered because he no longer pays bills. Although they were meant for irresponsible men, these words also ring true in our 47 counties today. The striking health workers might as well sing this song to their governor.
County governments are often faced with genuine deficits that leave them between a rock and a hard place. Although they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot with expenditures like Bungoma’s infamous wheelbarrow purchase, practically all county governments are faced with rising bills and sub-optimal revenue.
How can this revenue base be expanded exponentially?
The answer lies in smarter revenue collection. Recently, useful insights were shared during the County Revenue Automation Conference. The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) used a metaphor of a net to describe smart revenue collection.
Counties should mend the net by ensuring all revenue is efficiently collected and accounted for. This can be done through automation and digitisation of revenue processes hence justifying the need for more innovative digital platforms at the county level. Nairobi resorted to digital payment of car parking in the Central Business District.
Counties should also narrow the net’s mesh to ensure all revenue is efficiently collected. They can borrow a leaf from supermarkets and resort to loyalty schemes that reward self-compliance. When it comes to self-compliance, the carrot almost always work better than the stick, so county governments must think of more ‘carrot measures’ that can entice people to comply on their own accord.
Ultimately, counties should widen the net by unearthing and administering new revenue streams. Digital platforms can help counties find other additional revenue collection baskets.
The Constitution in Article 209(4) states that the national and county governments may impose charges for the services they provide. I suggest that if the quality and quantity of service provision becomes better, self-compliance will increase county revenues.
Additionally, digital platforms help in spotlighting and correcting service shortcomings. People know the numbers to call whenever they encounter problems with their mobile phones or banks but the same is not true with county governments. Call centres are digital platforms that have greatly enhanced interactivity between service providers and clients. County governments can borrow a leaf from this approach. Indeed, if county governments don’t embrace smarter revenue collection that leads to better services, they might end up being engineers of their break-ups with the electorate soon.
Think green, act green!
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