Nairobi County Government extends JamboPay contract to avoid disruption of services

Jambopay CEO Danson Muchemi. [David Gichuru/Standard]

 

City Hall has extended JamboPay’s contract by at least one month in a bid to avoid disruption of services and avert an impending financial crisis.

The Nairobi County Government on Friday extended the firm’s contract which was set to expire on April 7 and in doing so averted a Sh80 million daily loss.

WebTribe Chief Executive Officer Danson Muchemi on Thursday told The Standard that City hall had chosen to extend the contract so as to ensure for a smooth migration of the systems.

“City hall decided to extend our contract so that we can ensure that there is a smooth transition of systems and also to make sure that services are not disrupted,” said Muchemi.

This was after it emerged that City Hall did not have an alternative revenue collection firm in place should Jambopay shut down its systems.

On Tuesday, Jambo pay wrote to City Hall informing it that it would shut down its systems on Sunday night.

In January this year, the firm had also written to the county asking for an extension of at least two weeks after the contract expires to fully migrate its systems.

“…At that time, WebTribe (JamboPay) will be unable to carry out any transactions for the county,” reads the letter to the governor in part.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all services including, but not limited to payments and enforcement, will be disabled after April 7, 2019.”

Jambo Pay, a subsidiary of WebTribe Ltd, had also demanded for the settlement of Sh60 million in unpaid invoices.

Mr. Muchemi however confirmed that the two parties have been holding meetings since then and consequently it was agreed that the firm’s contract should be extended for a period of a minimum 30 days to allow for the smooth transition of JamboPay’s Ejiji-Pay system to City Hall.

The Standard has also learnt that the issue concerning the Sh60 million debt owed to Jambopay will be dressed as a separate matter by the Finance executive whose sector is in charge of settlement of debt.

Jambo Pay was contracted in 2014 by the then Governor Evans Kidero regime to collect revenue on behalf of the county for a period of five years.

The decision was informed by a revelation that City Hall had been losing billions in revenue due to collusion between corrupt county officials and business owners.

One year after it was contracted, City Hall’s revenue collection increased to Sh14 billion from Sh7 billion.

The firm is currently responsible for the automation of more than 134 revenue streams. The firm collects between Sh80 million and Sh100 million per day. Last month, it collected Sh1.5 billion for City Hall.

Last week, ICT Chief Officer Halkano Waqo confirmed that the county was engaging WebTribe to ensure the services are not disrupted.

 "We have been engaging the company on smooth transition. We are trying to disengage from them, but we want this to have minimal interruption on services,” he said.