Aasai

NAIROBI County MCAs are demanding that Governor Johnson Sakaja make public the location of the Nairobi Pay servers, an electronic system used by the county government to collect millions in revenue every day. Through the ICT Committee Chairman and Hospital Ward Councillor, Mark Ruyi, the councillors are also demanding copies of bank statements showing revenue collected in previous years. 

At a meeting of the committee held at City Hall, some councillors dismissed the amount of money claimed by the county government as “fake” because the relevant receipts were not provided. Kayole Councillor Jeremiah Themendu urged the County Government to ensure transparency in the collection and use of revenue. “Where are the servers for this system located? How much money is collected apart from the amount they announced. 

Why can’t we pay salaries when the government collects revenue every day?” he asked. However, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Mike Gumo, who oversees the ICT unit, insisted that his department could not access the revenue collection system. “Our role is to provide assistance. We ensure that the money reaches the accounts by correcting mechanical errors. We cannot know the amount of money in the accounts because we do not have that authorization,” Mr Gumo said.

He explained that Chief Financial Officer Asha Abdi is the sole administrator of the county’s bank accounts and is the one who can provide the required bank statements. Mathare North Ward Councilor Oscar Lore added that without information on the money in the bank accounts, it is difficult to verify the amount of revenue reported.

 “The main issue is how can we verify whether the amount reported by the county is correct. We can only do so with documents showing the money coming into the County accounts. But when we ask, the county minister just ignores us,” he said. Mr Ruyi, who chaired the session, urged the county government to table documents before parliament to enable monitoring of the money collected and spent. 

The tension arose when the Nairobi County Government, through County Clerk Godfrey Akumali, announced that the August 2025 salaries would be delayed after the National Treasury delayed the release of budget allocations.

 The workers were told that the county government is fully aware that the timely payment of salaries is of utmost importance as “the county is prioritising the issue when pressuring the National Treasury to release the funds.” In the last financial year, Nairobi County recorded a revenue collection of Sh13.7 billion, falling short of the Sh20 billion target. 

However, auditors say they have been denied access to full details and data in the revenue collection system, which is hampering their efforts to verify the full amount of the revenue.Several letters they have written to Governor Johnson Sakaja seeking clarification on the matter have not been answered.