Be worried if you owe Nairobi County in land rates

NAIROBI, KENYA: Property owners with land rate arrears could be denied loans by financial institutions to fund new projects, city hall said.

County Finance executive, Gregory Mwakanongo said that these were some of the measures the county was taking in order to recover Sh209 billion owed to it by property owners and business people.

He highlighted that they are in talks with banks and other financial institutions to deny loans to rate defaulters.

The city administration also said that it will not approve the building plans of their new projects starting July, until they clear debts.

"The main aim is to recover Sh20 million because we cannot keep on increasing taxes and levies yet we are owed a lot of money by defaulters," said Mwakanongo.

Once recovered, the funds will be used to finance the 2017/18 city budget that amounts to sh35.9 billion.

To this effect, he said, the county will not be borrowing or increasing taxes in order to substantiate its budget. Instead, it will restructure its revenue streams, enhance use of technology and recover the money it is owed.