The county government of Nyeri has acquired ownership of 322 motor vehicles and motorbikes valued at Sh 3 billion previously owned by the Karatina, Nyeri, and Othaya Municipal Councils.
The handover marks the beginning of the process of transferring assets, valuation reports, and registers of valuables-previously owned by the defunct municipal councils to county governments.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at the governor’s office, Dr. Perminus Nyaga, a member of the Inter-Governmental Relation Technical Committee (IGRTC), said that the process is also in line with the ‘resources follow functions’ mantra and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
According to Dr. Nyaga, the process also actualizes the resolution of the 10th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit held in February 2023, where it was resolved that the State Department for Devolution and IGRTC would coordinate the transfer of assets to county governments.
He noted that the exercise took a phased approach where IGRTC partnered with other state departments and the county governments for the valuation of the plant, motor vehicles, and equipment.
He at the same time urged the county governments to ensure the valued assets are updated in the county asset registers and the recommendations in the handing over report are implemented to safeguard and protect the public assets.
“The county government of Nyeri, with its legal ownership, will now be able to do whatever they choose with the assets. And seeing that the assets have already been valued, the finance department of the county will be able to take up the values and include them in their balance sheets, which is a requirement of the Public Finance Management Act,” said Dr. Nyaga.
Additionally, Dr. Nyaga also challenged the county to establish an asset disposal committee in line with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act to fast-track disposing of some of the obsolete assets held in various yards and parking lots. Additionally, he said that the valuation for fixed assets, which will cover parcels of land and buildings, is still in progress and plans are underway to complete the pending work.
“These assets belong to them; therefore, the functions that have been delineated and transferred to local authorities will follow the same route. There will be a transfer of resources, including land, buildings, and many other accessories, from the national government to the county governments,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the assets, Nyeri Deputy Governor Warui Kinaniri welcomed the move and called for the process of transferring the remaining assets to be expedited to allow counties to chart the way forward on the fate of the assets.
By Wangari Mwangi
