Business owners in Kiambu county are protesting what they term as unfriendly rates in the proposed Kiambu County Finance Bill, saying it will push young entrepreneurs out of business and discourage investment in the county.
Sam Chege, CEO of Wide Horizon Promotions, says some of the proposals will suffocate businesses and drive away investors from the county.
“One of our concerns is advertising rates which have been revised upwards about six times. How do you explain the rise in advertisement banner rates from Sh5,600 to Sh30,700 per month?” he posed. Chege said the Thika District Business Association (TDBA), the umbrella body of Thika traders, had received numerous complaints concerning the bill from its members.
“How do you tell the public that you have set up a new shop in town if the medium of communication has been limited to the affluent and the well-to-do in the market? We are asking the county government to reconsider these rates,” he said.
He also lamented about the lack of parking spaces at the town centre. TDBA secretary general Alfred Wanyoike, said they had detected discrepancies in the Finance Bill particularly the rates that charged at different zones.
“There are very major discrepancies in the fees and licenses especially between zones A, B and C. Thika CBD being in Zone A, contributes about 50 per cent of the county’s revenue.Though we are charged the highest, we never receive returns from the county government,” said Wanyoike.
He proposed to the Kiambu government to either reduce the range gap between the zones or give the town a proportional returns in allocation of funds during their distribution of resources to the sub-counties.
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