The Kiambu County Assembly has moved to appease the business community by amending the Finance Act, resulting in a 50% reduction in proposed public health fees and charges for non-eatery businesses.
The move followed a vigorous debate among Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), with some pushing for a complete scrapping of the charge, citing redundancy and a failure to deliver the expected services.
The motion to halve the current fees was introduced by Geoffrey Muceke, MCA for Kalimoni and the Assembly Majority Leader. He noted the widespread concern among entrepreneurs that the current charges were an unnecessary burden.
“We have noted with concern that public health fees and charges to the non-eatery businesses should be slashed by half,” Muceke stated. The amendment is intended to provide immediate relief to businesses such as hardware stores, salons, barbershops, and shoe shiners.
The reduction, however, did not satisfy all members. Peter Wainana, MCA for Karuri Ward, moved a motion to oppose the charges entirely, arguing they should be “zero-rated.” He highlighted that during public participation for the Finance Bill, non-eatery business owners vehemently opposed the fees, as they do not handle food.
Wainana pointed out that the charge is purportedly inclusive of an inspection service by the county government, a service he claimed is often not rendered. “Let’s be fair, since the medical charge is inclusive of medical inspection of businesses and the service is not rendered, we propose that the charge be slashed by half, and as we go forward, the charge should be scrapped in totality,” he said.
Paul Macharia, MCA for Limuru East, echoed this sentiment, calling the charges “an illegality” since businesses have already paid their main business licenses, and ensuring public health is inherently the county government’s duty. Similarly, David Chogi, MCA for Ndumberi, questioned the necessity, stating, “I have never heard of a cholera outbreak in non-eatery businesses, and the health charge imposed is unjustifiable for these businesses.”
The proposal to abolish the fee met resistance from Nelson Munga, MCA for Ndeiya and the Majority Whip, who argued against a complete removal. He maintained that all businesses, regardless of whether they handle food, have health concerns that require potential county service intervention.
“In salons they handle chemicals, and in hardware there is cement; therefore, the charge cannot be done away with with as they may require county services,” Munga asserted.
Ultimately, the assembly agreed on the 50% cut. Kamau Thumbi, MCA for Muguga Ward, described the unnecessary financial burden on businesses. “The burden of paying public health fees in non-eatery businesses is not necessary, and we have amended that the fees charged should be slashed by 50%, which is a relief, but we will continue to push for the fees to be scrapped,” he pledged.
In another significant amendment, George Njoroge, MCA for Nachu Ward and Chairperson of the Finance Committee, announced a change to business license renewal periods.
The amendment dictates that new businesses opened halfway or a quarter of the way through the year will now renew their licenses on the anniversary month of their opening, rather than being required to pay a half-year license in advance and renew at the start of the following year. “New businesses opened late in the year, in August or November, were required to pay half-year licenses; we have amended that licenses will be renewed in the same month when the business opened in the next year,” he explained.
Finally, MCAs called for strict accountability in revenue collection after the court halted the use of the Kiambu County government’s ERP revenue collection system. Members expressed concern over the manual collection process now in use. “We want accountability of the revenue collection in Kiambu county since it is being done manually after the courts stopped the use of the ERP system by the county government,” they stated.
