Senators reject treasury’s push for centralized county revenue management system

Senators have pushed back against the National Treasury’s plan to compel counties to adopt a centralized revenue management system, warning it would weaken devolution and repeat past mistakes.

The Senate ICT Committee, led by Trans Nzoia Senator Allan Chesang, instead pledged to support counties in building their own secure, efficient, and locally tailored systems.

Speaking in Kiambu during a tour to assess its revenue framework, Chesang hailed the county’s reforms that lifted collections from Sh2.9 billion in 2022 to Sh5.45 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year.

“In the beginning, we agreed with Treasury’s proposal, believing counties could not manage effective systems. We are now changing our approach. We will advocate for each county to develop its own secure and foolproof platform. With good leadership, counties can run their systems efficiently, and others should benchmark with Kiambu,” Chesang told reporters.

Treasury’s Centralized Revenue Draft

The Treasury’s draft Public Finance Management (Integrated County Revenue Management System) Regulations, 2025, propose a national digital platform for levies, fees, and tax collection. The government argues the system would enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

But senators maintain that centralization risks undermining county autonomy and crippling services.

Kiambu’s Homegrown System

Governor Kimani Wamatangi recounted the situation he inherited in 2022, where Kiambu relied on three separate private systems for business permits, parking, and land rates. He said the fragmented setup encouraged leakage and fraud.

“In one case at the Thika slaughterhouse, a client paid Sh20,000 through the system. But the bank record showed only Sh16,000 deposited. The missing Sh4,000 could not be accounted for since the county had no control over the platform,” Wamatangi said.

The county has since terminated private contracts and developed its own Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, now run by the county ICT department. The system consolidates licenses, parking, cess, slaughterhouse levies, liquor permits, land administration, and even hospital and HR management.

Concerns Over Devolution

Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogola cautioned that centralizing county revenue under Treasury would erode gains made under devolution.

“Placing own-source revenue under Treasury is akin to killing devolution. Counties would be at the mercy of the national government, just like under KRA. A centralized system would cripple devolved services such as salaries and medical supplies,” she said.

The debate now sets the stage for a major standoff between the Senate and Treasury over how best to safeguard both accountability and county autonomy.