Governor Abdiswamad Nassir Pledges on Reforming County Government Finance in Mombasa

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Governor Abdiswamad Nassir Pledges on Reforming County Government Finance in Mombasa

There is a MASSIVE funding gap that has emerged in the city counties of Kenya over the first 10 years of Devolution. This had a significant impact on the ability of county governments to provide services to citizens. The first formula for revenue allocation once county governments came into place was a redistributive formula.

This had the net effect of creating a cities funding gap of 36 billion shillings over the first 3 years of devolution for the 5 city counties. A study by the Commission for Revenue Authority and the Kenya Cities Forum put the City infrastructure funding gap at 186 billion shillings. The State Department for Urban Development and Housing has estimated the urban areas funding gap at 100 billion shillings.

We cannot prosper without efficient financial management systems. Mombasa County Government is emerging from a background characterized by a weak revenue base, poorly performing revenue collection, inadequate financial transfers from central government and weak county institutional capacity.

As a result, our county has struggled with service delivery; an outcome that also undermined voluntary compliance with the payment of local taxes and service charges because the weak faith of the people in their government.

There exist various opportunities to close the 36 billion shillings funding gap. I intend to leverage the modalities below to realize this.

Horizontal share; We will engage the Commission for Revenue Allocation and lobby the Senate to increase the 5% provision for Urban areas to 10%.

Vertical share; We will push the Commission for Revenue Allocation to improve upon their 2019/2020 vertical share recommendation

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST TO CLOSE THIS FUNDING GAP?

From 5 billion shillings for the 5 Cities to 15 billion to cater to the unique needs of city counties.

National Urban Fund; It is my intention to engage the State Department for Urban Development and Housing to push for the legislation and operationalize the New Urban Fund to support city county infrastructure with a special focus on Mombasa.

Multilateral & Bilateral Partners; Mombasa City County hosts various foreign consulates and is a significant global tourist destination. We enjoy the goodwill and support of several international development partners keen on Mombasa meeting its promise as a regional business, social and political hub.

I will engage these key stakeholders such as the World Bank Kenya Urban Cities Program, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the Department for International Development and the United States Agency for International Development with a renewed promise of integrity, accountability and transparency with a view to securing development financing for the seven thematic areas.

Private Sector; We will explore private sector debt - Capital Markets, Bonds, Term Loans, Syndications, Blended and/or Pooled finance, Annuity programs, etc specifically tied to programs in the seven thematic areas. Moreover, we will also engage willing equity investors with innovative structures that will allow us to address the ten thematic areas through Project Finance, Joint Ventures, Public Private Partnerships, Concessions, Service Level Agreements, Leasing, Managed Equipment Services and so on.

SOURCE: Citizen Digital

Add More Here: info@myleader.co.ke Call/Whatsapp:+254768371097





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