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KBC strikes deal to settle Sh900mn rate arrears

Governor Evans Kidero pointed out that under the deal, KBC will offer services to the county in the form of advertisements to cover part of the owed monies/FILE

Governor Evans Kidero pointed out that under the deal, KBC will offer services to the county in the form of advertisements to cover part of the owed monies/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 4 – The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has reached and agreement with the Nairobi County Government for the settlement of rate arrears amounting to Sh900 million.

Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Evans Kidero pointed out that under the deal, KBC will offer services to the county in the form of advertisements to cover part of the owed monies.

“I am not a novice in advertising and getting costs per head. I look at that when I am making decisions. We look at the parameters of the key performance indicators when you are investing your money in advertising,” he stated.

“KBC is the largest land owner in the County of Nairobi and that is probably why the accumulation of rates has risen as high as it is and obviously, if you are an owner of assets, you are fairly wealthy so KBC is very wealthy.”

He observed that the huge sum owed is as a result of the large amounts of land owned by the media outlet and expressed confidence that it will be settled in due time.

“Part of the settlement will be in cash, part of it will be in exchange of goods and services and no doubt, part of it will be in the form of surrender of assets to cater for the outstanding amount,” he said.

Last week, the Governor had put the broadcaster and several other government-owned organisations on notice, as a waiver of interest on land rates neared its close.

“Going forward, in terms of the revolution of the Rating Act, once it is passed by the County Assembly, I will be able to brief you comprehensively on how we are making our rate collection more effective,” the Governor stated.

Kidero further described this as part of efforts by the County Government to recover money owed to it without using extreme measures like auctions.

“We have had good responses from Railways, the Nairobi Cultural Centre which is a national asset. We have agreed how we are going to handle whatever is owed and the way forward,” he revealed.

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KBC Managing Director Waithaka Waihenya stated that the deal will see the broadcaster clear that has been outstanding for decades.

“The issue of debt that we were discussing with the Governor stretches a long way back. It is not something that happened yesterday, or last year or the year before. It is a historical problem since KBC was VOK. Some of you were not even born and some of us were still in school,” he said.

He reiterated that the huge amount owed was as a result of the high number of assets they owned.

“KBC is an expansive corporation. It has a lot of assets staggered across the County of Nairobi so when you accumulate the rates, it may be much more than what other people may expect,” he said.

“We are handling this, there is no need for panic and the Governor has assured that there is an amicable solution to that and I want to restate that everything is in order.”

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