Taita Taveta revenue growth falls short of CRA projections

Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime says online revenue collection has minimised corruption and theft of public funds. [File, Standard] Taita Taveta County Government has recorded a marginal growth in Own-Source Revenue (OSR) collection over the past six financial years. Governor Andrew Mwadime noted that OSR and the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) increased from Sh347.7 million in 2019/2020 to Sh547.9 million in 2024/2025. Mwadime said that the FIF grew fourfold, from Sh51.7 million to Sh229.3 million. OSR dropped to Sh251 million in 2023/2024 but grew to Sh318.6 million in 2024/2025, showing an overall upward trajectory despite the fluctuation. However, the collection is almost half of the projection of the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA), which indicates that Taita Taveta has the potential to collect Sh1.2 billion OSR annually. "The OSR has remained resilient and continues to reflect renewed efficiency in revenue mobilisation. Revenue across various sectors of our economy has gone up," said Mwadime. For the current financial year, the administration projects to collect more than Sh660 million in OSR. The fluctuation in revenue collection comes against the backdrop of a simmering row between the county administration and Senator Jones Mwaruma over low collection of OSR. In his recent public forums, the senator blasted the county government over the drop in revenue collection. Mwaruma alleged that graft and misuse of public funds have affected the delivery of quality services to the public. He told a public meeting in Taveta town that he will continue to discharge oversight roles to establish to the decline in revenue collection. "I am deeply concerned over the declining collection of own-source revenue, and I will continue doing my oversight roles to ensure money collected and funds coming from the national government are spent for the intended purposes and not by individuals who have no interests of the public at heart," stated Mwaruma. But Mwadime said, contrary to the senator's claims, the OSR has drastically improved. "On-source revenue collection has improved, contrary to outside claims. The figures speak for themselves," the governor said. He revealed that the county administration has put in place measures aimed at enhancing OSR, which has of late been increasing. Mwadime revealed that they have embraced online banking to boost revenue collection. "We have recorded a marginal growth in own-source revenue collection following the introduction of a playbill number. All money transactions at the field by the revenue department are transmitted online to the finance office," he said. "We have put revenue systems in place to boost our own-source revenue. We have introduced a paybill number in all four sub-counties where revenue collection is secured," said the governor. Mwadime assured that online revenue collection has minimised corruption and theft of public funds in the county government. "We have gone online to not only boost revenue collection but also minimise pilferage of public funds. We have also put targets on revenue collectors, and anyone found misusing public funds will face the full force of the law," he said. Mwadime said the county administration stopped collecting cash because funds had been going to individuals' pockets. "The new revenue system has induced transparency and accountability in the application process," he said. The governor warned that revenue officials who fail to meet the revenue targets will face action. "We have put in place targets which must be met by the revenue department. We will no longer allow corrupt and inept officials in government," warned the governor.

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