Nairobi County residents now have more time to clear their land rates, with the county offices set to open over the weekend. In a notice issued on Friday, Governor Johnson Sakaja said the county’s customer service centers will be open on Saturday and Sunday, operating between 8am and 1pm.
The county government is offering a 3 per cent discount for those willing to clear their land rates before the March 31 deadline. The county government said this is a good chance for property owners to take advantage of the offer before the deadline.
“We have extended our customer service hours this weekend to give Nairobi residents enough time to settle their land rates and access services easily,” Sakaja said. The governor noted that the county has 250,000 land parcels, but only 50,000 of them are fully captured in the system. What is even more worrying, however, is that less than half of these are actually paying land rates.
As Sakaja puts it, this has made it even harder for the county to offer basic services such as garbage disposal, road maintenance, street lighting, and even healthcare.
In his statement, he noted that from April 1st onwards, the county will be taking action against people who have not paid their dues.
“Paying land rates is not just a legal requirement; it is also what enables us to improve services and keep the city running,” he said.
Nairobi is not the only county in the country taking such steps. Machakos County is also taking similar steps by asking business owners and people owning properties to clear their dues before April 1st.
In a statement to the press recently, the county gave a warning to people who might not clear their dues before the deadline. The county noted that such people might be subject to certain penalties such as eviction or auctioning of their properties.
