City Hall loses Sh1m daily in parking fees

Harambee Avenue car parking in Nairobi on 1st November 2017 PHOTO DAVID GICHURU STANDARD

Revenue collection from parking fees in Nairobi has drastically reduced due to the recent political protests in the central business district.

Sources said that at the height of the protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in September and October, the county was losing about Sh1 million daily in parking fees as motorists feared driving into the city centre.

City parking fees collection is made through the E-jiji pay, an electronic mobile money transfer system manged by Web Tribe, a company contracted to automate all county revenue streams.

According to the Web Tribe director, Danson Muchemi, the political standoff that has been experienced in the country since August has led to losses in revenue for the county as manyt people kept away from the CBD.

“Whenever there are protests in town, the daily parking fee collection drops by at least Sh500,000 daily,” said Muchemi, noting that on a normal day, the county collects about Sh2 million in parking fees.

He was also concerned that most motorists and businesses had defaulted on renewing their licences because of the volatile political environment.

“Most people usually renew their licences at the beginning of the month, but only a few have lately done so,” he said. He adedd that in August, Sh97 million was collected from seasonal parking, Sh20 million from renewed business permits, Sh21 million from daily parking fees, Sh600,000 from off-street parking, and another Sh1.06 million in parking penalties.

This was a drop in revenue collected compared to August 2016 when the county raked in Sh109 in seasonal parking fees, Sh1.8 in parking penalties, and Sh29 million from daily parking.

The City Hall parking services director, Frederick Ndunyu, said the frequent demonstrations by Opposition politicians and their supporters had affected revenue collection, adding that revenue collection was currently at 85 per cent since the conclusion of the General Election.

“The demonstrations have greatly affected us, but normalcy is returning,” said Ndunyu.

Benson Githendu, a motorist, said he has been leaving his car at home since the CBD is no longer safe for parking. The windscreen of his car was smashed in September by stone-throwing demonstrators.

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