Marimanti town traders stop paying taxes to protest lack of public toilets

Traders in Marimanti town have unanimously agreed to boycott paying taxes to Tharaka Nithi County due to lack of toilets at the market.

The market in the Tharaka constituency headquarters is the second largest in the county after that in Chuka, Chuka/Igambang’ombe constituency.

Speaking during a meeting on Wednesday, the traders also said they will resume paying taxes after Governor Muthomi Njuki’s government builds a modern open-air market, a bus stop and market stalls, and tarmacs streets.

Led by their chairman Bruno Kaimba, the traders said the pit latrines at the dilapidated open-air market are full and the only usable one is ‘extremely’ dirty because no one was assigned to clean it.

Public health officials closed the filled latrines by nailing timber across the doors, leaving one that was designated for men but is used by both genders.

Some people also defecate in nearby bushes and incomplete houses especially at night, exposing town dwellers to diseases.

“We have agreed that until the county government meets our demands, which include constructing a modern public toilet, we will not pay taxes,” Mr Kaimba said.

He claimed most residents depend on dirty water from the nearby Kathita River that is sold by vendors because ‘very few’ are connected to piped water whose supply is also unreliable.

Cholera outbreak

A cholera outbreak, especially with the onset of rains, is also a concern, said trader James Kimathi. Dirt from the bush will be washed into the river, where many people fetch water for domestic use.

He said traders operate in deplorable conditions although Marimanti is second in revenue collection after Gatunga in Tharaka North sub-county.

“The county government tarmacked streets in Chuka, Chogoria, Kathwana and Mukuuni, but Marimanti, which is the second biggest in both population and revenue collection, is usually muddy during the rains and dusty during the dry season,” Mr Kimathi said.

Traders in Marimanti, Gatunga market and other markets in Tharaka constituency boycotted paying tariffs for most of last year in a bid to compel the county government to respond to the same demands.

Warned

In his speech last week during the opening of the third assembly, Governor Njuki promised to build a modern open-air market in Marimanti and market stalls and tarmac its streets.

He made the same promise for Magutuni in Maara constituency.
But he warned that he will only implement the projects if traders in the town agree to pay taxes.

“I will not collect revenue in one town and use it to develop another one where traders have boycotted paying levies,” Mr Njuki said.
He accused some former members of the county assembly of inciting traders to boycott paying taxes and appealed to current MCAs to cooperate with him.