Sh143bn defunct council assets grabbed, governors claim
What you need to know:
- The audit and transfer of the assets was supposed to have been by the defunct Transition Authority.
- Governor Khaemba said that the delay might mean that counties will have to buy land that legally belonged to them.
- The report also found that the authorities, collectively, had 40,815 parcels of land, 2,462 vehicles and 7,741 buildings.
Governors on Tuesday warned that most of the Sh143 billion worth of assets left by the defunct local authorities have either been grabbed or handed to individuals.
This, they said, was because of a delay in preparing an audit of the assets and liabilities owned by the devolved units before March 2013, when the counties took over.
Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba said the delay was putting the assets in further risk.
“As I am standing now, [the] land housing my office and where the county assembly sits have been allocated to individuals,” said Governor Khaemba.
The audit and transfer of the assets was supposed to have been done by the defunct Transition Authority (TA), a function that has now been taken over by the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC).
Governor Khaemba said the delay might mean that counties will have to buy land that legally belonged to them.
The governors have also urged the national government to help clear the liabilities left by the defunct local authorities.
“These liabilities run as high as Sh20 billion and some counties cannot manage to pay. We need to come up with something as they are continuing to pile,” said Governor Khaemba.
LIABILITIES
Mr Khaemba was speaking at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre when the IGRTC launched its strategic plan, logo, website and a report on public participation in the counties.
The unaudited report by the TA showed that in 2013, when the counties took over, the defunct local authorities had Sh143 billion in assets and 62 billion as liabilities.
The report also found that the authorities, collectively, had 40,815 parcels of land, 2,462 vehicles and 7,741 buildings.
IGRTC chairman Karega Mutahi said his office was working on finalising the audits, which he promised might be over by December.
“The more we delay, the more we risk these assets. We are working on a framework, and hopefully by December, we will have a way forward,” said Prof Mutahi.
Devolution Principal Secretary Amani Mabruki, a member of the committee, said the audit must be done fast to allow the counties to move forward.
“What the TA went round doing was to prepare an inventory of these assets and we are supposed to now audit and come up with a true picture,” said Ms Mabruki.
Trans Nzoia County was on Tuesday also handed its report from Josim Instantaneous Consultium, a company among the 30 that the TA had originally urged counties to use to audit the assets and liabilities.
“Knowing your assets and liabilities makes it easy for the counties and any other organisation to plan its financial statement and even attach monetary value to them,” said Josim's Executive Director Isaiah Walubengo.
