REPUBLIC OF KENYA

COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF KIAMBU

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
PRESS RELEASE CLARIFICATION ON THE DRAFT KIAMBU COUNTY FINANCE BILL, 2013
Following the media reports on Citizen TV 9 pm Prime Time News on Wednesday 23rd October, 2013 and in the Daily Nation of Friday, 25th October 2013 regarding the content of the draft Kiambu County Finance Bill, 2013, the County Government of Kiambu wishes to clarify the following issues: 1. That the Draft Bill contains fees and charges for services rendered by the County which were drawn from those previously levied by the eight former municipalities, now part of the County of Kiambu. The County Government is only consolidating and harmonizing what has been in existence, to facilitate a uniform application of the same throughout the County. private homes. Rather, the proposed fee has always been, and will continue to be, applicable to the slaughter houses. A fee is the price one pays for services rendered, and in this case, the fee relates to slaughtering services rendered in the abattoirs. The fees are therefore neither new nor bizarre, as alleged in certain reports. The fees enumerated in the Fifth Schedule under the table headed Agriculture and Livestock on page 62 of the Draft Bill are as follows: Item Description . Slaughter fee per head Cows Goats/sheep Chicken Pig Rabbit CHARGES (Ksh) 400 150 20 250 20

2. That the County Government has not proposed or purported to introduce fees for burying people in their own land. The only fees proposed in relation to burials relate to the county cemeteries as seen in the second row in the table below. The first table relates to cemetery charges for temporary graves whereas the second relates to permanent graves. For purposes of clarity, the Third Schedule, on page 34 of the draft Finance Bill, provides as follows: FEES FOR GRAVES Item Description Cemetery Adults Children Infants Unit of Measure Per body Per body Per body Charges (Ksh) 4,500 3,000 2,500

4. That no fees or charges were imposed by the previous Local Authorities for burying carcasses of domestic animals on private property and the status quo remains the same. However, a fee has always been, and remains applicable, when a person seeks the services of the County Government in the collection and disposal of their dead animals on public land. The Third Schedule, on page 27, provides for the following fees: FEES UNDER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES Item Description Unit of Measure Charges (Ksh) Collection Of Dead Animals Within Premises Small carcass (hen, cat etc) Large carcass (cows, Donkey, Horse, camel, Pig etc)

Per load Per load

400 4,000

FEES FOR COUNTY CEMETERY Item Description Burial charges (permanent graves) Citizens dying within county Citizens dying outside county Non-citizens Grave maintenance Grave re-opening Adults Children Infants Unit of Measure Per body Per body Per body Per instance Per instance Per instance Per instance Charges (Ksh) 8,000 10,000 25,000 30,000 15,000 10,000 5,000

5. Finally, we would like to thank all who took part in the public participation process in the month of August 2013. We would like to assure our residents that the County Government of Kiambu would not propose fees and charges that would negatively impact on trade and investment or the lives of the people of Kiambu County. We call upon our residents to work together with the County Government in ensuring that we are able to be of better service to you. For more information please visit our website. www.kiambu.go.ke

3. That the fees will be used to defray the expenses relating to the acquisition and maintenance of land for the development of cemeteries within the County. The indigent and landless residents of Kiambu County will always be accommodated in public cemeteries through existing exemptions. That the County Government has neither proposed nor purported to introduce -taxes relating to the slaughtering of animals or poultry in

WILSON MWITA MAROA INTERIM COUNTY SECRETARY