William Ruto: KRA has assured me no tax will go uncollected

President-elect William Ruto at KICC on August 25, 2022 during the swearing-in ceremony of new Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. [Samson Wire, Standard]

President-elect William Ruto says he has already spoken with senior directors of KRA to ensure tax collection is optimised.

Should he be sworn into office, Ruto said the taxman will adopt more effective tax collection mechanisms to ensure no tax "goes uncollected".

Ruto made the remarks at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) during the swearing-in of Johnson Sakaja as the fourth Governor of Nairobi County.

"I pledge to have county funds released in good time. I'll work with all the 47 governors to make Kenya great. In the Jubilee administration, we had challenges of releasing shared revenue to the counties. I know where the challenges are, and I'll correct them," said Ruto.

"KRA has assured me that all Kenyans who should be paying taxes won't avoid or evade the duty. The agency will be used constitutionally, and not for witch-hunt."

Sakaja and his deputy Njoroge Muchiri were sworn in by Justice Roselyne Aburili, assisted by Deputy Registrar of the Magistrates Courts Caroline Kabucho.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director-General Mohamed Badi attended the function.

Sakaja has pledged to fulfill his campaign manifesto, in which he placed water shortage concerns and a need for orderliness as top of his priority.

"We will become a regional and global force. Nairobi is the city of hope. I assure the employees at City Hall that we'll work together," said Sakaja.

The new governor said all the major functions that were placed under the NMS, including Transport and Health, will be reverted to the County Government of Nairobi.

Sakaja won the governorship race in the August 9, 2022 elections, getting 699,393 votes against Polycarp Igathe's 573,516 votes.

Igathe ran on Jubilee Party ticket, an outfit under the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition, which is headed by Ruto's main rival in the presidential race Raila Odinga.

Sakaja becomes Nairobi's fourth governor after Evans Kidero (2013-2017), Mike Sonko (2017-2020) and Ann Kananu (2021-2022).