Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has defended the Sh4 million allocated to revenue collection clerks as allowances, arguing that the payments have played a key role in doubling the county’s revenue.

Addressing concerns raised over the expenditure, Waiguru insisted that the money, disbursed in the 2023/2024 financial year, was justified as it motivated staff to work longer hours, ultimately increasing the county’s Own Source Revenue from Sh300 million to Sh700 million.

“This Sh4 million they are talking about is allowances for the entire year for our revenue collectors whom I have given a target of Sh700 million. The revenue collectors have to be at the market at 4 am and leave the market at 10 pm, the least we can do is to facilitate them to do the work,” Waiguru stated.

She explained that the payments covered lunch and breakfast allowances for the clerks stationed at markets throughout the year.

The revenue officials, she said, endure early mornings and late nights to meet collection targets, making it necessary to support them.

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Waiguru made the remarks at the county headquarters in Kutus during the launch of the national government’s health digitisation initiative.

She dismissed concerns raised during a Senate audit query, maintaining that the county was simply compensating workers for their extra efforts.

“If am spending Sh4 million to collect Sh400 million then that is good mathematics, I will make sure my staff are facilitated and motivated to do their work and deliver on target. We must be fair to our staff,” she said.

Waiguru stated that her administration is committed to ensuring fair remuneration for employees, noting that continued revenue growth would depend on having a motivated workforce.

She also set a new revenue collection target of Sh800 million, saying it could only be achieved by incentivising staff.

“I have been a civil servant myself and I understand what the staff go through to ensure services are delivered. We want to increase our revenue collection target to Sh800 million and this target can only be achieved by a motivated staff,” Waiguru added.

She urged county employees to continue working hard, assuring them that they would receive the necessary support to deliver on their targets.

At the same time, she emphasised that service delivery and development would remain the county’s primary focus.