County assets valuation to start in a week’s time
By Alvin.Mwangi, March 7, 2022County governments will soon claim full ownership and know the exact value of the multi-billion-shilling properties previously owned by defunct local authorities.
The Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) said it has announced an exercise to value and transfer the assets to counties.
IGRTC acting chair John Burugu said the Sh181 million process will begin on March 14 and be conducted in two phases.
“We are on course to ensure that before the General Election every county knows the value of their property. The valuation and transfer exercise is in two phases. The first lot will be conducted in 26 counties while the second phase will start by the end of April,” Burugu said.
Speaking at the weekend, Burugu said a team of experts has been assembled under IGRTC and the National Technical Coordination Committee.
Committee comprises representatives from the ministries of Devolution, Lands, Interior, Health, Agriculture, IGRTC, office of the Attorney General, Council of Governors and National Land Commission.
Between 2016 and 2018, the agency prepared and disseminated a register of all assets and liabilities of old local authorities.
However, the assets are yet to be valued and officially transferred to the 47 counties. IGRTC succeeded the former Transition Authority (TA), whose term expired in 2016 after overseeing the transition from the local authorities to devolved governments.
However, TA’s term expired before it could identify all the properties owned by the authorities, value and transfer them to the counties created by the 2010 Constitution.
Currently, many county governments do not know the value of the properties they inherited from the defunct authorities. Others have claimed that they are yet to receive asset registers.
Public entities
“In this regard, IGRTC was tasked with preparing inventories of assets and liabilities of the government, other public entities and local authorities,” Burugu said.
Scenario has put at risk thousands of properties valued at billions of shillings but which could not be traced by counties.
They include pieces of land, buildings and houses, vehicles, schools, health facilities among other assets.
IGRTC board member and chair of the Audit and Risk Management Perminus Ndimitu said the valuation and transfer of assets is key in public finance management.
Since its establishment, the chairman revealed, IGRTC has prepared and disseminated registers of assets and liabilities of the 175 defunct local authorities.
It has also completed the process of identification, verification, validation of assets and liabilities of the national government relating to devolved functions.
IGRTC has also prepared and disseminated registers of all assets and liabilities of the national government relating to devolved functions.
Third phase is the valuation and transfer to county governments of all assets of the defunct local authorities and assets of the national government relating to devolved functions.