JamboPay’s term at City Hall likely to hold in the medium term

Exiting City parking services provider JamboPay is likely to stay on board in the medium term as the expected implementation of an integrated revenue collection system by the county government of Nairobi continues face delay.

Inquiry into the subsequent extension to JamboPay existing contract following its initial expiry on April 7, 2019 has established delays to the adoption of the new system which renders the services of the current provider indefinite.

This is as the County Government of Nairobi hints at a go-slow in strategy execution to an own-sourced revenue system as it seeks additional time to straighten the transition into a new portal.

“The county would have loved to run the new system as soon as Jambo’s contract expired. However, this was not possible. We don’t want to rush and commit blunders. We would not commit to an implementation time frame as we are not sure,” Nairobi City County Parking Director Tom Tinega told Citizen Digital.

The extension will see JamboPay stay further on as the City’s parking service facilitator against its own expectations with the company’s management having already written to City Hall in January this year to express dissatisfaction in their stay on an account of allegations of funds misappropriation to want out of contract.

The stay has, however, been a saving grace to the county government which would have already run into losses to the tune of billions of shillings as the collection of parking revenues reverts to a manual entry code.

JamboPay’s entry to the City’s parking system was ushered in by devolution back in 2014, this as the new County Government of Nairobi sort for an automation to revenue collection in an effort to stem revenue losses through the physical handling of cash.

The firm has in in its over five years of service to the county facilitated the collection of revenues running into billions of shillings from close to 136 revenue streams.

Parking revenue has made up the highest grossing revenue stream topping earnings estimated at an average of Ksh.80 million to Ksh.100 million per day.

JamboPay has meanwhile earned millions from the contract taking up a 4.5 percent commission of total revenues collected with the county for instance accumulating parking revenues of Ksh.10.9 billion at the end of the 2016/17 financial year alone.

Despite the indifference in its contractual obligations with the county, Jambo Pay Chief Executive Officer Danson Muchemi says the firm remains supportive of the transition and has the intention to staying put until the County registers a new service provider.

“We are willing and ready to support the county up to such a time when they are ready to take in an alternative service provider,” he said.