Counties should explore ways of generating local revenues

In the just ended summit, issues of revenue share for counties and promise to accelerate total transfer of devolved functions featured. Governors should lay strategies to address revenue issues once and for all in four ways. One, support valuation of all assets owned by or in counties will be valued afresh so as to determine the actual worth and documentation for their unbundling and for functions to be completely devolved. While at that, counties should examine the fourth schedule part 2 of the constitution, which details 14 functions of counties, and see to it that they can leverage on these devolved functions to generate more local revenue and hence become financially stable. Our governors must prove beyond reasonable doubt the need for the existence of the devolved units. Secondly and closely related to the first one is the need to increase attempts and measures to ensure adequate own source of revenue (OSR) streams that are sustainable, reliable and acceptable to the citizenry. Article 209 (3) of the constitution allows counties to get revenues from land rates, single business permits, parking fees, building permits, bill boards and other advertisements among others. A thorough audit should be done to establish the extent of these services and rates and also track the performance of the rates as charged. There should be measures to seal all loopholes and corruption such that more money can hit county coffers.

Governors and counties should also lobby for an increase in percentage of sharable revenue accruing from good fiscal discipline or more local revenue collections, including pushing for 30 percent or more utilization at the local source of what has been collected locally or as would be agreed upon by the summit and Intergovernmental and Budget Economic Forum (IBEC). Thirdly, counties must undertake massive investments through County Investment Corporations that engages in profitable ventures to grow local revenues. The counties should ensure that the drive more activities and functions in their counties to attract such rates and fees so that to shore up their revenue bases. Fourth, counties should use the example of Lagos state under Governors Tinubu and Fashola who greatly transformed the state through tax reforms, public engagement and stakeholder buy in and utilization of taxes for massive programmes and projects hence matching taxes and development. Dr. Mutegi Giti, Urban management, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) & Environment Specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com, @danielgiti.