Internet outage blamed for loss of revenue at City Hall

Jambo Pay CEO Danson Muchemi

Recurrent internet disruptions and weak enforcement have been blamed for the loss of revenue at City Hall despite the automation of 131 revenue streams.

This comes amid a recent revenue drop from Sh80 million to Sh40 million just days after a number of MCAs called for the removal of Jambo Pay cashiers from City Hall. Jambo Pay CEO Danson Muchemi noted that on average, internet outages occurred three days a week, leading to loss in revenue.

“When the systems are down you cannot check who has paid and who still owes the county money. This also hinders officers at City Hall from issuing instant receipts to clients who have already paid,” said Mr Muchemi.

Jambo Pay is the firm contracted to collect revenue on behalf of City Hall.

Refuted claims

The CEO further refuted claims by MCAs that the Jambo Pay system was experiencing downtime that resulted in the loss of about Sh1.8 million. He said Jambo Pay and City Hall systems were integrated to allow for ease of operations.

Muchemi pointed a finger at Safaricom, which is the network provider, for the internet outages that affected both City Hall and Jambo Pay systems.

“It is common knowledge that City Hall has a pending Sh3.2 million debt owed to the service provider and that is responsible for the internet outages. When the internet is down we also cannot access the system,” he added.