County Government of Nakuru recorded a Sh265 million increase in local revenue collection between July and November last year.
The 43 per cent increase in local revenue comes at a time when the county is preparing to be elevated to a city.
The Municipal Charter, one of the legal requirements before issuance of a City Charter, has been placed before Members of County Assembly for ratification.
According to the county treasury, the collection improved from Sh613,374,104 in the 2017/2018 to Sh878, 177,426 in the same period within the current financial year.
The facility improvement fund, which is revenue collected from hospitals and health centres also increased from Sh191,898,092 to Sh364,903,146 during the same period.
In July last year, the executive announced it had recorded a Sh320 million increase in revenue collection in the 2017/2018 financial year.
Reduce dependence
The county collected Sh2.28 billion in the 2017/2018 Financial Year up from Sh1.96 billion in 2016/2017 despite depressed economic activity attributed to the long electioneering period.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui said his administration has sealed loopholes that led to revenue loss. He announced that plans to establish a county revenue board were at an advance stage.
“The Revenue Board will be separated from day-to-day running of the county so as to enable it focus on collecting revenue,” Mr Kinyanjui stated.
He noted that the success of county projects depends on capacity to raise revenue.
“The county seeks to reduce dependence on National Treasury disbursements through creation of a robust revenue base,” he said.
The team at the treasury headed by county executive committee member in charge of finance Joseph Kiuna attributed the increase to the decision to cascade revenue targets to all sub counties.
