Samboja, Mvurya call truce in revenue collection row

Taita-Taveta County has rescinded its decision to collect revenue from the town of Mackinnon Road after talks between Governor Granton Samboja and his Kwale counterpart Salim Mvurya.

The two leaders had a telephone conversation on Thursday and agreed to maintain the status quo as efforts to resolve the issue continue. Further talks to resolve the dispute will kick off next week. 

Taita-Taveta finance executive Andrew Kubo said the governor had directed his department not to collect revenue from the town. He said the county had already opened an office in the area.

Last week three officers from Taita-Taveta were arrested and held at the Taru Police Station after their Kwale counterparts reported them for illegally collecting revenue.

“The two leaders resolved that none of us will collect revenue until this matter is resolved. For this reason we have withdrawn our revenue officers from Mackinnon Road until further notice,” Mr Kubo said.

But he said plans are underway to collect revenue from Mtito Andei, which Makueni County claims is in its territory. He revealed that his department is setting up offices in the town.

Mr Kubo said the Makueni County government had not reached out to Taita-Taveta officials over the matter, and that traders will start collecting levies next week.

“We are offering services to the residents, so it is fair if we collect revenue for us to continue giving them these services,” he said.

Taita-Taveta has petitioned the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee to hear and resolve the border disputes with its neighbours.

Governor Samboja’s team will use a boundary report tabled in the assembly as part of its evidence in the case. The report indicates that Mackinnon Road was previously under Taita-Taveta’s jurisdiction until it was unilaterally transferred to Kwale in the late 1960s, while part of Mtito Andei is within the county borders.

Governor Mvurya urged residents of Mackinnon Road to maintain peace as the two administrations seek a solution to the dispute.

“I have already held talks with Governor Samboja and we have agreed to have the citizens first maintain peace and that there should be no interruption of services,” he said.

He added that he will convene a crisis meeting next week with Mr Samboja over the matter.

It is hoped that the willingness by the two governors to resolve the boundary row amicably will succeed this time around. Previous efforts had come a cropper.

Many joint leaders’ meetings have also been held to try to resolve the matter but nothing concrete has ever been achieved.

In March 2018, the two leaders agreed to peacefully resolve the conflict over the town after Deputy President William Ruto convened a meeting to end the stalemate.

Maps from the colonial period and after show that the boundary between the two counties is at Miasenyi.

But the Taita-Taveta administration argues that the boundary should pass in the middle of Mackinnon Road at Mbele Primary School.

The two counties are also entangled in another border row, with each laying claim to the Kuranze gemstone mining zone.

It is believed that at the centre of the dispute is the economic importance of the two revenue-rich areas.