De nye regioner i Kenya (counties) er nu begyndt at hæve priserne, både overfor de offentlige institutioner og private for offentlige tjenesteydelser for at få den trængte økonomi i de nye regioner til at hænge sammen, melder den regeringsvenlige avis Daily Nation
A decision by county governments across the country to raise levies and fees for various services has sparked outrage from business owners and the public.
In Nairobi, the cost of doing business in the city has increased significantly as new rates take effect starting this month.
The county has also raised the rent paid by its tenants.
Businesses will pay up to 66 per cent more this year than they did last year for a licence to operate within the county’s boundaries.
The county intends to charge expectant mothers more at the county-run Pumwani Maternity Hospital while burial charges at the Lang’ata Cemetery have also gone up.
Landowners will also pay more in rates with plots in residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial charged 34 per cent of their unimproved site value. Plot owners in selected zones will also pay a flat rate of between Sh1,000 and Sh1,700 depending on the size of the land.
Politikerne spares heller ikke
Politicians have not been spared either as they will pay the county government Sh250,000 every time they want to hold a rally within the city, five times the Sh50,000 they used to spend in 2013.
They are among the hardest hit. No other category of licences have had their charges increased five-fold.
The move by counties to raise the charges came as senator Boni Khalwale said the Senate would introduce legislation to check excessive taxation by county governments.
Dr Khalwale criticised the proposed charges and levies contained in the Kakamega County Finance Bill 2013 which was presented to the County Assembly for debate on Wednesday.
And Mr Francis Atwoli, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary-general, said the devolved system of government was increasingly becoming a nightmare to business owners and workers.
He asked Parliament to take steps to halt the increased levies charged by counties.
“Today, almost all county governments have raised rates by three times including land and property rates as well as the cost of business permits,” he said.
He warned that the business owners were likely to pass the costs on to consumers, raising the cost of living.
Kommer overraskende
According to the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), the most worrying aspect of the change of fees by the county governments is that they are getting people by surprise.
“They are not being communicated very well because people get to know about them only when they come to pay (at City Hall),” said Mr Stephen Mutoro, Cofek’s secretary general.
He said the increase in the cost of doing business and of living would likely make counties a liability.
He said the most recurring issue across the counties was that there hasn’t been much public participation in the revision of the rates.
“Counties risk being stopped from implementing these fees if people go to court citing the fact that there was little public participation in their preparation,” he said.
County governments have the legal mandate to charge fees and raise their own revenue. This is done through the Finance Bill debated and approved by the County Assembly in the same way MPs approve the Finance Bill at the national level.
In Kiambu, there has been an increase in the rates charged on lorries entering and leaving quarries from Sh100 to Sh300.
In Thika town, traders at Jamhuri Market have protested against the increases in their licence fees and other levies by over 100 per cent.
Their leader, Ms Catherine Karanja, said a bag of farm produce initially charged at Sh20 was now being charged Sh40 and that a lorry ferrying produce into the market was being charged Sh1,000 up from Sh500.
