Kenya Revenue Authority Research Articles

Effect of Tax Evasion on Revenue Collected at Customs, Border and Control Department of Kenya Revenue Authority

Efforts to curb tax cheating have not yet yielded 100% rewards. The taxpayers are daily devising new mechanisms of evading taxes. Tax comes in different ways and has been reported to cause indirect harm to the economy. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of tax evasion on revenue collected at the customs, border, and control department of Kenya Revenue Authority. The study applied a descriptive research design. The study through purposeful sampling sampled 120 businesses from 7,431 businesses that are active in the export or importation of goods and clearing agents. The study applied the Taro Yamane formula to sample 162 respondents from a population of 1788 staff of KRA at the customs and border control department. Secondary data was collected using a secondary data sheet and covered a period between 2001 and 2022. Data for the study was analyzed through quantitative techniques (descriptive and inferential analysis). The results of the study were presented in tables. The study revealed that among the causes of tax evasion at the border included: High Tax Rates levied on goods and services, perception of high compliance costs, the complexity of the process of filing for duties and other fees, inadequacy of taxation services/support, ambiguity in tax laws and policies and low tax education among taxpayers. the study further revealed that among the ways through which taxes were evaded at the border included: misdeclaration, undervaluation of goods smuggling of goods, classification of imported goods as raw materials, and tariff misclassification. The study concluded that tax evasion significantly and negatively affected the tax revenues collected at the customs, border, and control departments. The study recommended the hiring and development of staff working at the customs border and control department to be able to carry out frequent tax audits and inspections of goods that are imported or exported to curb tax evasion. The study recommended that the KRA allocate resources to acquiring the latest information communication and technology gadgets including scanners to help in curbing tax evasion because it had a negative effect on the tax collected. In addition, the tax department should invest in educating the taxpayers on the importance of paying taxes, how to file for taxes, and when to file to reduce tax evasion. The study also recommended a strengthened one-stop-border post policy to help in reducing tax administration costs.

Information Security Challenges in the Absence of ICT in Protecting Personal and Organisational Data in Nairobi County, Kenya

There have been several cases of lost documents and misplaced or inaccurate information belonging to individuals or organisations reported in recent times at global, national and regional levels. Nairobi county is one of the regions on the spot as many people travelling or working in the city have reported lost identification documents such as certificates and licenses, whether through criminality or negligence. Furthermore, most businesses and organisations dealing with huge volumes of data need help to protect and provide accurate information. Many still need help with the pre-digital data management systems, thus risking the loss of both personal and organisational data. This paper, therefore, sought to examine the information security challenges due to the inadequate application of ICT in managing personal and corporate data and their implications on individuals and organisations in Nairobi County. The target population included employees from Kenya Revenue Authority and Kenya Data Networks in Nairobi headquarters offices, police officers deployed at NPS offices headquarters and members of the public. The selected target groups were known to deal with enormous data for both personnel and businesses, and the police officers were part of this study because of their mandate to help in tracking lost personal and business documents. Lastly, the researcher engaged members of the public to share their experiences of losing business and personal records. The study employed purposive and simple random sampling techniques to select the required sample of 110 participants drawn from the four groups. A structured questionnaire was administered to the sampled police officers, employees of Kenya Data Network and Kenya Revenue Authority and members of the public. The researchers interviewed key informants from the three organisations, NPS, KRA and KDA, to complement the data collected using the questionnaires. The findings established that challenges were associated with the need for more ICT in managing personal information and organisational data. The paper revealed that the need for an integrated system is a challenge to tracking missing identities or verifying the validity of provided information, thus compromising the productivity and security of businesses and institutions. Results from this study provide a solution to tracking any missing documents and correcting inaccurate personal data by adopting an integrated ICT system.

The Effects of the Shared Repertoire and Voluntary Action Characteristics of the Community of Practice on Knowledge Sharing at Kenya Revenue Authority

Rationale of Study – Knowledge-sharing practices can be used to improve the current practices of the Authority. This study investigated the effects of the shared repertoire and voluntary action characteristics of a community of practice (CoP) on knowledge sharing in the Kenya Revenue Authority.Methodology – A descriptive survey research design was adopted. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to collect data. Data was obtained by administering semi-structured questionnaires. The target population was 1099 KRA employees, including middle-level managers and lower-level staff based at Times Tower in Nairobi. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to create a sample size of 92 respondents, ensuring equal representation of KRA employees.Findings – The ANOVA results implied a significant relationship between shared repertoire and voluntary action with knowledge sharing at Kenya Revenue Authority. The coefficients of determination revealed that voluntary action had a more significant effect over shared repertoire on knowledge sharing in KRA.Implications – This study can help KRA to implement working CoPs, improve knowledge sharing and enhance customer-focused tax administration. The study recommends that there should be specific artefacts only shared with department members and that KRA employees should belong to a professional body beyond the department's requirements.Originality – This study fills a gap in recent research on the effects of the shared repertoire and voluntary action of a community of practice on knowledge sharing

Online Tax System and Tax Compliance by Small and Medium Enterprises: Case of Kitui County in Kenya

Purpose: Technology has significantly impacted the efficiency of conducting business, among them, the digitalization of tax functions, which has led to the creation of operational efficiencies in terms of filing tax returns. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of online tax system on tax compliance in Kitui County's SMEs. Specifically, the study focused on effect of online tax filling and online taxpayer registration on tax compliance in Kitui County.
 Methodology: This research was hinged on theory of Technological Acceptance Model, Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Theory of planned behavior. A descriptive research design was used in this study. The owners of the 442 small and medium businesses in Kitui County was the study's unit of analysis. A sample population of 206 is determined using the stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to examine the data (SPSS Version 25.0). For all quantitative variables, descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, average score, and standard deviation was computed after data cleaning, which includes checking for entry mistakes. The information was presented in tables and graphs. The relationships between the independent and dependent variables were established using multiple regression analysis.
 Findings: The study concluded that a unit increase in online tax registration leads to 0.807 increase in tax compliance by small and medium enterprises in Kitui County. The study revealed that a unit change in online tax filing leads to 0.731 change in tax compliance by small and medium enterprises in Kitui County.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study concludes that the KRA officials in Kitui county should conduct awareness programs among SMEs regarding the importance of online tax registration. The study informs policy as it seeks to help Kenya Revenue Authority in using effective measures to mobilize and motivate small tax payers to register online for turnover tax, value added tax among other taxes in order to increase tax compliance.

Tax Subsidies and Performance of Micro and Small Enterprises in the Manufacturing Sector in Mombasa County, Kenya

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) segment has been recognized worldwide for its role in wealth generation, employment establishment, and poverty reduction. Nevertheless, there is an increasing inability of Small-Scale enterprises access to government support, which leads to failure to meet expected achievements as the engine for economic growth and development despite government encouragement in this direction. As a result, the aim of this research was to determine theiimpactiofigovernmentiinitiativesionitheiperformanceiofimicro and small businesses in Mombasa County, Kenya. In this study, the specific objectives were to determine how tax subsidies affected the performance of micro and small manufacturers in Mombasa County, Kenya. This study adopted agency theory. Descriptive research design was used in this study. The study primarily focused on micro and small businesses in the manufacturing sector in Mombasa County, Kenya, and since the target population was insufficient to draw a statistical sample, a census was used to establish an appropriate sample size based on the target population. Several open-ended questions and a modified Likert scale questionnaire were used. To refine the instrument, a feasibility study was conducted. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the quality and reliability of the study. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 25) for Windows was used to analyze data. The analyses were carried out with the help of frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, regressions, and correlations, and the results were presented as graphs, charts, and tables. From the findings, the study concludes that the tax reforms and tax behaviours significantly affect tax compliance of the MSEs in Mombasa County. The study recommends that: continuous emphasis on creation of awareness and monitoring of the compliance of the MSEs. Review the tax laws and more enforcement of the MSEs tax laws. Kenya Revenue Authority should carry out more profiling of the MSEs and research more on the MSEs to understand the MSEs. Publicize prosecution non-compliance; provide incentives for compliance and opportunity to voluntarily disclose before the application of penalties. There is need for the government to enhance MSEs’ trust with the tax reforms for voluntary compliance.

Strategic Capabilities and Performance of Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya

Resources endowment in an organization provides platform for competitive advantage. Thus, there is need for all corporations to evaluate their assets and skills and align them with sole purpose of transforming and achievement of organization goals and objectives. The government budget deficit or surplus magnitude has been the most likely single most important indicator used to assess the influence of government fiscal policy on an economy. This has been partly attributed to the various governments desire in positively responding to the ever changing demands of the clients and at the same time enhancing accelerated economic development and economic. Hence, this study sought to examine the effect of firm performance; a case of Kenya Revenue Authority. The study specifically focused on how marketing capabilities, market sensing capabilities, information technology capabilities and management capabilities influenced performance. The study was based on resources-based view and information technology diffusion theory. A descriptive research design was used. Target population comprised of 842 tax compliance officers. Stratified sampling was used to select 123 respondents from Nairobi region. Pilot testing was carried out in Thika sub County Kenya Revenue Authority offices among 12 compliance officers. Primary data was collected through issue of questionnaires among compliance officers. Reliability will be tested through use of Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Descriptive statistics that include mean, frequency, percentage and inferential statistics and standard deviation including regression and correlation analysis analyzed the data. The study discovered a positive and significant influence of marketing capabilities, market sense capabilities, information technology capabilities and management capabilities on performance. The study concluded that the organization with a strong marketing capability will enable the firm to achieve better targeting and positioning its brands relative to competing brands. According to the findings, the study concluded that the capacity to market sense has a favorable and significant impact on the quality of market entry, having information communication capabilities allows a company to acquire unique access to client information and preferences while also lowering future business search costs, management capacity is critical in inspiring employees to work harder, developing channels for bilateral communication, and allowing for employee engagement, recommendations, and criticism. The study recommended that the company should improve its marketing capabilities in key functional areas. The businesses improve their market sensing abilities by first comprehending each phase of their process, then critically reviewing their market learning capability, and then rectifying any learning deficiencies. The company's business performance can be improved by exploiting its information technology capabilities to generate revenues, lower expenses, or do both. Managers must ensure that employees are aware of the forces driving change, that they are included in the planning process, and that they are aware of how to work

INFLUENCE OF TAX COMPLIANCE COST ON HOSTEL OWNERS’ COMPLIANCE TO RENTAL INCOME TAX IN LAIKIPIA WEST SUB COUNTY, KENYA

<p>The Government of Kenya through the Finance Act 2015 introduced a simplified rental income tax. This is a monthly tax payable by a resident person for rental income earned from use or occupation of residential property. Upon the gazettement of the Income Tax (Residential Rental Income Tax) Regulations, 2016, the Kenya Revenue Authority embarked on an aggressive campaign to enlist landlords into the Monthly Rental Income Tax regime. However, the Economic Survey 2021 showed that the country’s revenue collecting agency KRA was not able to meet revenue targets as set by the National Treasury. Comparison of National Government Budget Estimates with Actual Out – turns for the fiscal years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 showed that KRA missed the Budgeted Ordinary Revenue targets by Kshs.128.7 Billion and Kshs.90.1 Billion respectively. Property taxes including rental income tax are part of the ordinary revenue collected by the tax authority. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of tax compliance cost on hostel owners’ compliance to the monthly rental income tax in Laikipia West Sub County. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires. A census of the entire population of hostels was used to collect the required data. The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study established that an increase in tax compliance cost discourages compliance behavior since taxpayers tend to evade the costs either by under-declaring their monthly rental incomes or not declaring any income at all. The study recommends that KRA should scale up the tax payer education and awareness programs to ensure that more landlords are trained on how to file their own returns without having to use tax agents who make the process costly leading to non-compliance.</p><p>JEL: H25, H26</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0982/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

User Education Practices on Utilization of Electronic Resources at the Kenya Revenue Authority Library, Nairobi

This paper is slightly adapted from my master’s thesis. It addresses the first objective which was to determine the types of user education practices on the utilization of electronic resources at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) library. The purpose of this paper was to assess how user education practices are planned, organized and implemented at the KRA Library in response to the challenge of orientation, training and instructing users on the use of information sources and services. User education is a life-long process that has no end. While seeking information services of a library, users need education to effectively use library resources, facilities and services. This ensures that users are aware of the available resources and how to access them to support their needs. However, electronic resources in organizations may not be fully utilized as a result of inadequate user education practices. The ultimate goal of librarians and libraries is to educate users to discover their information needs, encourage and motivate them to use library resources and services. The user is the most important component in a library or information system and is the last link or receiver of information in the communication cycle. The descriptive research design was used while both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in this study. The census technique was applied to select the sample size from the study population. The study established that the types of user education programmes practiced at the KRA library include library orientation and bibliographic instruction among others. It recommends for extension of user education programs, frequent user surveys and integration of user education with collaborative library activities.

Constraints to Optimising Revenue Potential in Subnational Governments in Kenya: Lessons from Nairobi City County

Optimisation of revenue potential in the subnational governments in Kenya is core to meeting the their recurrent and development expenditure needs without overrelying on national government transfers. However, the subnational governments face constraints that limit their potential to enhance their revenue collections. Therefore, this study examines the constraints to own source revenue (OSR) collections in Nairobi City County (NCC), assesses challenges to optimal collection of parking fees, and identifies measures to address the challenges inherent to the collection of single business permits (SBPs) debts in the county. The study employed desk review and survey design targeting 170 key informants from the NCC Government and the Kenya Revenue Authority distributed across the 17 sub-counties. The study found that the major constraints to OSR collection in the NCC are inadequate revenue collection tools, equipment and machines (82%); inadequate capacity of the debt collection unit to follow taxpayers who default or delay in making payments (68%); poor tax education/awareness within the county (63%); below par adoption of information and communications technology systems combined with the prevalence of manual revenue collection in making payments (58%); inadequate staff numbers to collect the fees and charges (53%); and lack of legal framework (policies, rules and regulations) for collection of all the revenue streams (51%). The study also found that the main challenges to optimal collection of parking fees in the NCC are high parking fees; system failure; insecurity; unmarked parking lots; interference by parking boys; lack of parking spaces, among others. The study makes suggestions for addressing the challenges in the collection of SBPs debts and provides comprehensive recommendations on dealing with the identified constraints to revenue optimisation in the NCC, applicable to other subnational governments across sub-Saharan Africa.

Corporate Governance Practices and Performance of Kenya Revenue Authority, Nairobi County

Corporate governance can potentially impact every aspect of how we conduct business today and more so, many companies internationally are willing to take the risk because results are great and outstanding. Adherence to corporate governance especially for public institutions can result in enormous reductions in cost or removal of unnecessary steps that cut down on time. The main research objective is to establish the influence of corporate governance practices and performance of Kenya Revenue Authority. The specific objectives of the study was to establish the influence of board structure on performance of Kenya Revenue Authority, to examine effect of ethical practices on performance of Kenya Revenue Authority, to establish the influence of CEO duality on performance of Kenya Revenue Authority, and to determine the effect of audit committees on performance of Kenya Revenue Authority. This study was guided by three theories which include the resource dependency theory, stewardship theory, and agency theory. The present study employed a case study approach and adopted descriptive research design. This study targeted all the employees at KRA (Kenya) which currently has a pool of 289 employees based in the Headquarters (Times Towers) (KRA, 2017). Simple random sampling technique was used to select 60 personnel from the population which represents 20.76% of the whole population. This study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected through interviews while secondary data involved other sources of evidence such as internal company documents and company websites. Questionnaires were administered to the respondents through a drop and pick method. The researcher left the respondents to fill the questionnaire at their own time and collect the completed form within one week. This availed the respondents enough time to read, understand and fill the forms with maximum concentration. The Data obtained from the field was checked. The study generated both qualitative and quantitative data. For the quantitative data, regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the variables. The qualitative data was first organized into themes corresponding to the study objectives. Content analysis of qualitative data included text analytics and document analysis. The validity of the data was measured by data obtained from senior managers of various departments of KRA. The significance of the study is that it would help researcher understand how corporate governance affects organizational performance. From the findings, the performance of Kenya Revenue Authority is significantly influenced by the corporate governance practices employed by the governance committee which also scrutinize all matters relating to corporate governance in the company and meets at least once during the year. There is also a nomination committee that lead the process for board appointments, make recommendations to the board and be involved with succession planning in the company. The researcher recommends that, the management should maintain and develop a responsible, creative, innovative board and a more appropriately elected and governed boards since transparency is one of the most essential indicators for evaluating corporate performance.

The Size of the Informal Sector and Tax Revenue in Kenya

In Kenya very little research has been carried out on the effect of the size of the informal sector on tax performance. Failure to raise adequate tax revenue from the increasing informal sector implies the government should either resort to unpopular tax rates increases or public debt. Each of these approaches has ramification on the economy. To come with relevant policies, it is important to understand the link between size of the informal sector and tax revenue performance. This paper estimates the effect of the size of the informal sector on tax revenue performance in Kenya for the period 1970-2018. On testing for stationarity, the study establishes a mixture of I (0) and I (1) variables thus suggesting the use of Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. The finding indicates that the size of the informal sector negatively influences tax revenue in Kenya. This implies that the informal sector’s output may be increasing but little tax is generated from it. The finding also has implications for the conduct of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). To reduce the size of the informal sector, KRA should increase surveillance to identify economic activities that fall within the tax bracket and tap tax revenue from them.

EFFECT KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE AT THE KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY

Purpose: The real challenge is the use of technology to continuously promote KM uptake in organizations with a different culture, more so government institutions, ensuring at the same time that knowledge creation, sharing and usage becomes more efficient and transparent.. The general objective of the study was to evaluate effect knowledge management and performance at the Kenya revenue authority.
 Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps.
 Findings: The study concludes that, majority of the respondents agree that knowledge sharing through the KM portal reduces the knowledge accessibility process which saves on man-hour. It 66 also concludes that using the KM portal reduces the knowledge transfer rate within KRA. Also on-line KM sharing process improves efficiency in transferring critical knowledge within KRA and has improved knowledge creating and sharing levels. It is less expensive to do on-line knowledge sharing than the traditional methods. Finally, knowledge management has helped KRA in improving performance while also helping KRA to control of the knowledge management process. The study further concludes that indeed knowledge management leveraged on technology has a positive relationship with organizational performance. This implies that with the adoption of knowledge management based on technology, performance is likely to be enhanced.
 Recommendations: There is a need for KRA Kenya Revenue Authority to sensitize the employees on the KM systems it has in place and how they will be of advantage to them in terms of increasing their output levels. Given the positive response from the employees that they are willing to embrace knowledge creation, sharing and usage in the long term, there is need for Kenya Revenue Authority to keep on developing new systems and improving on the existing ones on a need to need basis. The new systems and improved existing ones will ensure that KM leveraged on technology is sustainable and thus the performance levels will improve

Stakeholder Involvement and Performance of Projects at the Kenya Revenue Authority

Kenya Revenue authority just like any other organization has projects that need implementation and performance. The Agency has invested in many projects to ease the process of revenue collection. Nonetheless concerns had been raised concerning implementation of several projects by Kenya Revenue Authority. Therefore, this study sought to determine the effect of stakeholder involvement in project planning on performance of projects at the Kenya revenue authority. A multiple linear regression model was used to show the relationship between stakeholder involvement in project planning and the performance of projects at the Kenya Revenue Authority. The entire data analysis process was aided by the use of the statistical package for social sciences. All inferences were made at 0.05 level of significance. The study also established that the performance of projects at the Kenya Revenue Authority was positively and significantly affected by the level of stakeholder involvement in planning in the authority. The study concluded that the involvement of stakeholders at the Kenya Revenue Authority was inevitable in the authority since it influenced the performance of the authority’s projects. Given that the authority had embraced stakeholder involvement in its projects to a large extent, the study recommended that it was crucial for authority to sustain current efforts aimed at promoting stakeholder involvement across all its projects. The study recommended that the authority should review and enhance its stakeholder involvement framework or strategy so as to ensure that collective responsibility in planning was deeply entrenched in its culture. The study further recommended that the involvement of the authority’s stakeholders in its projects should be balanced across all the project phases.

Effect of Main Stream Media Education on Tax Compliance among Motor Vehicles Spares Traders in Suburb Area of Nakuru Town, Kenya

A major challenge facing both developed and developing countries in the world is non- compliance with current tax laws and obligations. There are several reasons why tax payers do not comply with tax laws, including poor education, complex tax laws, low risk of being caught and a culture of corruption. In Kenya, the authority mandated with tax revenue collection is faced with the challenge of tax compliance among the tax payers. What this one means therefore is that Kenya Revenue Authority does not meet its tax collection targets. Due to tax revenue collected not being enough to finance government development and recurrent expenditure, the government is forced to turn to both domestic and foreign debts. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of main stream media education on tax compliance among motor vehicles spares traders in Suburb area of Nakuru town, Kenya. This study employed an explanatory research design. This study target population was 300 motor vehicles spare traders operating in the suburb area of Nakuru town. The sample size of the study was 150-motor vehicle spare traders operating in the Nakuru town suburb area. The study found that main stream media taxpayer education is significant in influencing taxpayers’ decisions to comply to taxation systems. The study has concluded that taxpayers’ education through main stream media enlightens the motor vehicles spare traders on the need to pay taxes. In addition, the education programmes impact positively on the ability and willingness of the tax payers to file their returns. This type of education changes the attitude of the tax payers towards paying their obligatory taxes to the tax authorities and thus, leads to increased tax revenue collection. The business traders need to acknowledge the information updated on the social media platforms, newspapers as well as the ones advertised on national televisions. The study also recommends introduction of tax education to the Kenya Education curriculum both for primary and secondary education to better prepare learners who are future tax payers to the importance of tax compliance at an early age.

‘Holding against the tide’: Exploring the role of bureaucratic pockets of effectiveness in Kenya

This paper explores the factors that have influenced the performance of the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya Revenue Authority and National Treasury since the 1990s, all of which were identified as potential examples of ‘pockets of effectiveness’ in the Kenyan context. The paper finds that Kenya’s ‘dispersed’ political settlement (which moved from a ‘narrow’ to ‘broad’ social foundation during the paper’s period of analysis) creates an environment that is generally not conducive to concerted, longer-term investments in state capacity, as ruling elites tend to be preoccupied with shorter-term efforts to keep themselves in power and lack sufficient enforcement powers to discipline or centralise rent seeking. To varying degrees, these political pressures have been felt by the three case-study organisations, especially the Treasury. That said, other factors have helped to maintain some degree of autonomy for these organisations (even if the extent of their autonomy has varied significantly, both between the organisations and within the same organisations over time). These include organisational-level factors, such as the extent of each organisation’s formal autonomy, as well as, more informally, the nature and embeddedness of its leadership. Transnational factors have also been important, notably the extent to which these organisations have been subject to the disciplinary logics of global neoliberalism. Finally, ideational factors have helped to buttress the autonomy of these organisations, at least during particular periods, as policy coalitions composed of politicians and technocrats (drawing on, but not beholden to, donor support) have occasionally come together around shared developmental ideas to try and protect these organisations – and the economic technocracy generally – from the more corrosive pressures generated by Kenya’s political settlement.

Bottled water brands are contaminated with multidrug resistant bacteria in Nairobi, Kenya

Background: The demand for drinking water has necessitated the proliferation of bottled water companies in Kenya. This study evaluated if retailed bottled water in Nairobi Kenya complies with both local and international reference criteria. Methods: A total of 42 different water brands (25 approved by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and 17 banned brands) were analyzed for both physicochemical and bacteriological quality. The spread plate method was used to obtain the total plate count of bacteria, while the membrane filter method was used to obtain total coliform count (TCC) and fecal coliform count (FCC). Structured interviews were used to gather company-related information. Results: Overall, 16% of KRA-approved and 35.3% of banned bottled water were contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria. Of the approved water brands, 4% were positive for total coliforms, compared with 17% of the banned brands. Similarly, 4% and 17% approved and banned water brands were positive for fecal coliforms, respectively. Escherichia coli (19.1%), Pseudomonas spp. (9.5%) and Klebsiella spp. (4.8%) were the most common bacterial types isolated from all water brands, most of which exhibited multidrug resistance. In multivariable analysis, water companies that cleaned pipework and bottles using chlorine-based disinfectants (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.8), those that had food safety programs (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.019 to 0.9), had standard operating procedures (SOP) for water sourcing (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.012 to 0.9) and SOP for contamination protection (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.9) remained independently associated with bottled water brands exceeding WHO TCC limits. Conclusions: A number of bottled water brands were contaminated with one or more types of indicator bacteria, some of which were multidrug-resistant. Water bottling companies’ processes contribute to contamination. Rigorous regulation and monitoring will improve water quality and safety.

Bottled water brands are contaminated with multidrug resistant bacteria in Nairobi, Kenya

Background: The demand for drinking water has necessitated the proliferation of bottled water companies in Kenya. This study evaluated if retailed bottled water in Nairobi Kenya complies with both local and international reference criteria. Methods: A total of 42 different water brands (25 approved by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and 17 banned brands) were analyzed for both physicochemical and bacteriological quality. The spread plate method was used to obtain the total plate count of bacteria, while the membrane filter method was used to obtain total coliform count (TCC) and fecal coliform count (FCC). Structured interviews were used to gather company-related information. Results: Overall, 16% of KRA-approved and 35.3% of banned bottled water were contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria. Of the approved water brands, 4% were positive for total coliforms, compared with 17% of the banned brands. Similarly, 4% and 17% approved and banned water brands were positive for fecal coliforms, respectively. Escherichia coli (19.1%), Pseudomonas spp. (9.5%) and Klebsiella spp. (4.8%) were the most common bacterial types isolated from all water brands, most of which exhibited multidrug resistance. In multivariable analysis, water companies that cleaned pipework and bottles using chlorine-based disinfectants (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.8), those that had food safety programs (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.019 to 0.9), had standard operating procedures (SOP) for water sourcing (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.012 to 0.9) and SOP for contamination protection (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.9) remained independently associated with bottled water brands exceeding WHO TCC limits. Conclusions: A number of bottled water brands were contaminated with one or more types of indicator bacteria, some of which were multidrug-resistant. Water bottling companies’ processes contribute to contamination. Rigorous regulation and monitoring will improve water quality and safety.

A Comprehensive Review of Biomethanation of Urban Food Waste in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Organic waste in Nairobi City County accounts for 58-63% of the municipal solid waste generated. Food waste is at the center of urban waste management in the city as it accounts for 64% of the recoverable material. The city is estimated to have a food waste generation per capita of 6.1 kilogram per year, which accumulates to 29.4 thousand tons yearly. It transpires that upstream activities of the food supply chain, mainly production, postharvest loss, processing and distribution are the major food waste hotspots, accounting for 95% of the food waste in developing countries. Additionally, downstream activities of the food supply chain show that hotels, restaurants and super markets are the most important food waste hotspots. Such food waste hotspots should become the primary targets for resource recovery in a circular economy. Currently, the exploitation of food waste for animal feed and composting is growing in Nairobi City County, which signifies that food waste is becoming a valuable urban resource that can be traded, thus creating employment. However, the application of food waste for energy recovery through anaerobic digestion is limited in the city due to lack of source separation of municipal solid waste. On average, food waste has a biomethane potential of 508.45 ml CH₄ /g VS. This implies that 29.4 thousand tons of food waste generated in Nairobi City County has the potential to yield 10.5 million m³ of methane, and will demand a digestion volume of 4,299 m³. Using global case studies of electricity generation from biogas, it is estimated that food waste in the city potentially yields 1.38 MW of electricity. In addition, about 26.1 thousand tons of bioslurry can be recovered from the digestion of food waste, which can be used for urban agriculture. Regardless of the liquefied petroleum gas enjoying a tax exemption, biogas at 32.78 USD per gigajoule of delivered energy demonstrates to be more economical, and this can be enhanced by upgrading it. The removal of liquefied petroleum gas from tax-exempt goods through the Finance Act 2020, and an addition of 16% value added tax on the fuel by Kenya Revenue Authority that became effective on 1^st July, 2021 favors biofuels such as methane. However, long term realization of methane generation potential in NCC demands the adoption and implementation of more friendly biofuels policies and regulatory frameworks in the country.

Influence of iTax System on Service Delivery at the Kenya Revenue Authority

Influence of iTax System on Service Delivery at the Kenya Revenue Authority

Determining the Relationship between Counseling Needs and Employee’s Age at Kenya Revenue Authority to Reduce Job Burnout

Determining the Relationship between Counseling Needs and Employee’s Age at Kenya Revenue Authority to Reduce Job Burnout