District officers and chiefs have been ordered to stop charging fees for services to the public.

The Government has released Sh66 million to provincial administrators countrywide to help them foot fuel, telephone and stationery bills and the officials will now have access to cash to run their offices and ensure no citizen is charged for public services.

The allocation is aimed at ending the notorious practice where chiefs and district officers ask the public to provide funds for services like fuelling Government vehicles whenever they need assistance. Others are asked to pay for photocopying services.

Although the fees are illegal, they have almost become official in many parts of the country as desperate citizens pay up to access services from Government offices.

In a circular dated August 22, Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia said: "Over the past couple of years, operations at the division and locational levels have been hampered by lack of basic operational resources.

"This situation has in most cases been used as an excuse by field officers for not offering services and also to solicit funds from the public."

Under the new move, each district officer will get Sh15,000 every quarter for fuel oils and lubricants for vehicles, translating to Sh60,000 annually. They will also get Sh5,000 per quarter for the purchase of office and general supplies.

In addition, the district officers would be entitled to Sh3,000 per quarter for telephones.

Their salaries

Chiefs will receive Sh2,000 every quarter for their office and general supplies. Previously, they did not get any cash, apart from their salaries.

But the circular is silent about assistant chiefs, who number about 7,000. Mr Kimemia said records relating to the allocations, including dates of disbursement and acknowledgement by beneficiaries, should be maintained at the district, divisional and locational headquarters.

The allocations come just two days after Parliament was told that village elders will start receiving an allowance for their contribution to national development.

Parliament would soon make changes in the Provincial Administration structure to pave way for formal recognition of the elders and specify a way of rewarding them.