Kirinyaga acquires assets owned by defunct local authority

Kirinyaga government has acquired assets previously owned by the defunct local authorities 12 years after devolution.

The devolved unit received documentation of 147 movable assets that included motor vehicles, motorcycles, tractors and graders from the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee.

Kirinyaga Deputy Governor David Githanda who the documents said the county has been in possession of the assets worth billions of shillings without necessary documents.

 “We want to thank IGRTC for its directive that saw us finalise the transfer,” he said.

Githanda said the legal possession will enable the county to include the assets in its inventories for accountability and transparency.

Only 14 of the vehicles acquired are still in use and 10 are serviceable.

The rest including motorcycles are unserviceable and will be disposed in accordance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

 "Necessary steps will be taken to repair those that can be used by the county," Githanda said.

The county will still have to do ownership transfers, reregistration and deregistration with the National Transport and Safety Authority to get logbooks.

Other assets the county expects to receive include land, buildings, plant and equipment.

Some of the lands belong to schools, markets, medical facilities, access roads and social amenities like stadiums and recreational halls.

“This marks the beginning of the county's legal ownership of the assets," said IGRTC board member Perminus Ndimitu.

"The county can maintain, dispose of, or repair the assets based on their needs."

After the handover, the Finance department will incorporate the valued items into their balance sheets, as required by the Public Finance Management Act.

Ndimitu said the process of identifying, verifying and validating other assets like land and buildings ongoing and once complete, ownership documents will also be handed over.