The Kisumu County Government has partnered with Safaricom to introduce a new Integrated County Revenue Management System (ICRMS), providing residents with a one-stop platform to access and pay for various county services.
Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o stated that the decision to embrace this new, integrated, and automated system would not only enhance accessibility and transparency but also significantly boost its Own Source Resource (OSR) collection regime.
With this innovative approach, and if well managed, we hope to collect the county potential target of Sh2.2 billion and build on that next year. We have co-created this platform with Safaricom to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for Kisumu residents and county officials to contribute to the overall efficiency of revenue management,” Prof Nyong’o said during the launch at the City Hall.
The county boss added that the new revenue collection system is entirely cashless and accessible through various channels to facilitate seamless revenue collection. These channels include the Safaricom App, Mobile App, and WhatsApp platforms.
Expressing gratitude to the Kisumu County Revenue Board and Safaricom for their diligent efforts in implementing the new system, Prof. Nyong’o highlighted that revenue collectors have received sufficient training on using and monitoring the new platforms.
He expressed satisfaction with the real-time verification of transactions and payments, made possible through secure unique identifiers, including QR codes.
Furthermore, the system guarantees real-time reporting of all revenue transactions across all departments in the county.
Prof. Nyong’o also announced the introduction of the Ushuru Centre, serving as both a contact and call center. This center enables county revenue staff to assist and resolve issues related to revenue from the citizens.
“The system has GIS Data Integration Capability which is intended to help the County Government Map all its revenue sources and resources to ensure enhanced service delivery and to make revenue collection easy and more organized, especially for the structured revenue streams,” he said.
Notably, the smartphones in use are equipped with new technology and capability for officers to carry out revenue collection, functioning seamlessly both online and offline. The system successfully passed credibility tests during the pilot testing for the Unstructured Revenue Streams, which commenced on December 18, 2023.
The already implemented streams encompass Markets, Town Parking, Bus Park, Cess, and Stock Rings, among others. There are also ongoing plans to incorporate additional components into the new system, such as the Unified Business Permit, Advertisements, Plan Approvals, and Rates.
