Fifteen counties, among them Mombasa, Kisumu and Machakos, have no comprehensive register of their assets, a government agency has said.
Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Samburu, Embu, Meru and Garissa have also not concluded compiling a register of their assets and liabilities - five years since they were required to do so - according to the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC).
Billow Khalid, a member of IGRTC, yesterday told the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation and Oversight Committee that Taita Taveta, Migori, Homa Bay, Vihiga, Narok and Kisii were other counties that had not presented records of what they own.
“To date, only 32 counties have submitted their reports to the County Assets and Liabilities Committee. IGRTC has reviewed the submitted reports and is currently addressing the emerging issues,” Mr Khalid told the MPs.
Local authorities
Yesterday, Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, who is also the House committee chairperson, asked the counties that were yet to identify and validate all the assets and liabilities of defunct local authorities to do so by August.
“There is every likelihood that assets that were under defunct county and municipal councils may get lost and end up in the hands of private individuals if the current county governments do not have a comprehensive register,” he warned.
Mr Kioni said his team would soon be touring counties that had not complied with the IGRTC directive to find out why they had not done so, noting that the devolved units should use existing manpower to conduct the exercise.
Fixed assets
Land, buildings and motor vehicles are some of the major fixed assets the 47 counties inherited from county and municipal councils, which were scrapped with the advent of devolution in March 2013.
The IGRTC, through the County Assets and Liabilities Committee and its predecessor, the Transition Authority, both commissioned an audit of assets and liabilities owned by the 47 county governments.
However, a review of the report presented by both bodies shows great disparities, including a significant decrease in liabilities.
