Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata has underscored the automation of services saying the move has improved service delivery by his administration.
Kang’ata notes that since the current government took power last year, the provision of key services through online platforms has enabled the county administration to increase revenue collection among other achievements,
During his status of county address at the local Assembly Wednesday, Kang’ata revealed that through automation of ways of collecting revenue, the county managed to realize Sh682 million in the 2022/2023 financial year.
The amount, he said, was much higher as compared to Sh520 million which was collected by the previous regime in the 2021/2022 financial year.
“The success in local revenue collection may be attributed to a larger extent to automation of payment methods. For the period between July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, the county government realized about Sh175 million in own source revenue.
“We are happy to report that within the similar period of July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, the county government is on course to attain Sh300 million.
Kang’ata added that if they remained on the same trajectory, the county government could easily attain Sh1 billion in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year, saying his administration has not added any single tax.
“This has been achieved through further automation of local revenue collection and holding educational seminars to enforcement officers and revenue collectors,” he noted.
The governor observed that with the improvement of revenue collection, the county administration has been able to fund part of the recurrent and development budget saying there has been a delay in disbursement of devolved funds by the National Treasury.
He further noted that through automation, Murang’a residents could apply for single business permits, liquor licenses, subdivisions of their plots, building permits, and pay various county services including parking and cess.
“Additionally, it is worth noting that Murang’a level 5 hospital automation has enabled the facility to move its daily average collection from Sh80,000 to Sh400,000,” remarked Kang’ata.
He said they were currently doing network connectivity to all 157 health facilities with 12 facilities already networked.
“Upon completion of this endeavor, at the click of a button, it shall be possible to know if drugs are available in any public facility at any given time; the number of patients who have attended any facility, and for what diseases. That will enable the county government to plan better and obtain health data in real-time,” he added.
The governor continued, “Automation of Fleet Management has produced desirable results. All county government vehicles have vehicle tracking systems that have reduced fuel consumption amid increasing fuel prices”.
The tracker, he said, also monitors speeding, thus reducing incidences of accidents adding that the automation of the fleet has enabled his administration to curb indiscipline among drivers.
Meanwhile, Kang’ata revealed that his administration has been able to clear all development pending bills amounting to Sh342 million that were verified by a committee that was established to investigate all pending bills for the previous county government.
“We are committed to clear recurrent pending bills amounting to Sh300 million by the end of December this year,” he added.
He further said after scrutiny of ineligible pending bills, bills amounting to Sh425 million were committed back to the procurement department for further documentation.
“Further, approximately Sh300 million worth of pending bills were deemed as ineligible, and affected parties were advised to either pursue the matter in court or to seek further verification from the Office of Auditor General,” said Kang’ata.
By Bernard Munyao
