Vihiga ventures into car repair business to boost revenue
The mechanic unit at Manyatta in Vihiga County. The county government is proposing levies for mechanic and car wash services it will offer at the plant.
The Vihiga County government plans to venture into the car repair and carwash business this financial year as it seeks to widen its revenue base.
The plan is in the 2022 Finance Bill now being debated. The devolved unit proposes to start offering carwash services for as low as Sh200 at the newly constructed Sh6.5 million vehicle repair unit.
Repair services will cost between Sh1,500 and Sh8,000 for minor work and between Sh3,000 and Sh15,000 for major work.
Maintenance services will attract between Sh3,000 and Sh30,000, depending on the type of vehicle or machine.
Charges for minor, major and maintenance services do not include the cost of spare parts.
Governor Wilber Ottichilo’s administration proposes to charge Sh200 for washing a saloon car.
Washing a lorry at the repair shop at Manyatta on the Kisumu-Kakamega highway will cost Sh500 if the bill sails through the county assembly in its current form.
And with the target to collect Sh199.9 million by June 30, 2023, the devolved unit also proposes charging Sh1,000 to wash a combat truck and a similar amount for washing a skip loader and an exhauster.
Construction of the mechanical unit started in 2018, with M/S Broadcore Limited awarded the tender to build it.
Dr Ottichilo said at the time that the unit would also service government vehicles and help the local administration save up to Sh500 million it spends annually to service vehicles outside the county or at private repair shops.
Widening revenue streams
The unit will also repair plant machinery and motor vehicles from other owners as a way of enabling the local administration to widen its revenue streams.
The Finance Bill drafted by the county's finance department proposes to charge Sh1,500 for minor service on a saloon car, with major service on the same vehicles attracting double that amount.
Minor services on lorries and machines will cost Sh2,000 and Sh8,000 respectively.
Major service on a lorry, a plant or machine will cost between Sh4,500 and Sh15,000.
Maintenance service on a saloon car will cost Sh3,000, while lorries and a plant or machine will cost between Sh4,500 and Sh30,000.
"[The] Cost of items will depend on the prevailing market prices or cost of delivery by the supplier," the bill says.
The unit will also offer wheel balancing services for Sh500 cars and pressing machines for Sh1,500.
The county assembly has called for public views on the document before MCAs deliberate on it.
In an advert, the assembly’s Finance and Planning Committee invited views through written memoranda in line with Article 196(1)(b) of the Constitution and Section 87 of the County Government Act, 2012.
When he launched the start of construction work on the unit in 2018, Dr Ottichilo said the county government was incurring huge expenses maintaining its vehicles in private facilities.
The governor also said the unit would be used to offer internship courses to students attending vocational training centres in the county.
"We will equip the unit. Our vehicles will be serviced at the unit and save us money. Other vehicles will be serviced here and this will earn us revenue," Dr Ottichilo said at the time.
