Nairobi MCAs are pushing for the removal of the controversial Nairobi Revenue Service (NRS) also known as Nairobi Pay due to a significant decline in revenue collection as it continues to collect tax for the county government.
During a site visit by an ad hoc committee investigating the revenue decline, it was revealed that ownership, administration, and developer information of the current system remain unclear. The committee, granted a 45-day extension by the House recently toured the Nairobi County customer service center, Jambo Pay, and the National Bank of Kenya.
Lydia Gatheru, the Nairobi Customer Service Director, clarified to the MCAs that revenue collected by the county is not remitted to NRS. Instead, the NRS system is used for generating invoices, receipts, and updates to indicate payment. The money collected is directly deposited into the bank accounts of the Nairobi County government.
The Public Participation, Citizen Engagement, and Customer Service chief officer mentioned having qualified developers on standby to assist during system downtime. The MCAs later visited Web Tribe Ltd, a software development company that previously handled revenue collection for Nairobi, praising its transparency and reliable services.
Web Tribe, in business for 14 years, highlighted its track record of no transaction reversals. The committee, led by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, now seeks further information on the location of NRS, system administration, server operations, before proceeding with their report.
