Keep off City Hall, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero now tells suppliers

Governor Evans Kidero (left), Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke (right) are accompanied by the newly appointed Cabinet Secretary in charge of Health Dr Cleopa Mailu (centre) when they toured government projects that had stalled in the past with the intention of reviving them?

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has banned suppliers from physically following up on their payments at City Hall. He said the operations done in the two offices for cheque preparation and cheque dispatch had been “discontinued forthwith.”

“Suppliers are forthwith discouraged from physically following up with Finance Offices for their payments. All payments and the processing of outstanding accounts payable will be automated and the workflow, including receipt of invoices, processing of the invoices and payment of the invoices, will be elaborate to ensure prompt payment of our valued suppliers,” said Kidero.

The governor added that he had now set up a Creditor’s Control Centre that will process invoices from vendors for goods and services, manage the vendor accounts and even reconcile the suppliers’ ledgers.

Suppliers have been asked to issue fresh details of their bank details so that they are shifted to the new online payment system. “All payments will be discharged through the Internet Banking at Central Bank of Kenya.The Internet Banking platform will facilitate funds transfer both through RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement)... that is, remittances to third parties at commercial banks and transfer of funds to accounts held at Central Bank of Kenya,” said Kidero.

Kidero also announced changes in his government “to enhance transparency and accountability.”

The Governor said service delivery is being hampered by debt the National Government and some of the State agencies owe the County Government. “Due to the underlying problem of huge debts currently standing at Sh43 billion owed to my Government by various State agencies and public institutions, it has been an uphill task to undertake development projects,” said Kidero.

To cut down on revenue leaks, the county government has issued tough new rules to curb graft in the Finance Department. He said the resources were “scarce” and without the crucial changes to plug all potential avenues of corruption, and the people who manage the resources, the city is unlikely to meet its service delivery targets. The County Government is reeling under a mountain of garbage, poor drainage, dilapidated roads and filthy markets.