From left: Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) chairperson Kipkurui Chepkwony, deputy chairperson Saadia Kontoma and Dr Perminus Ndimitu addressing journalists in Nairobi on 16 January 2025.
Senators have taken on the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC), calling it “toothless”, amid a long wait by counties to have devolved assets transferred to them, 12 years since the advent of devolution.
The legislators said they will now engage the national government to expedite the transfer of assets worth billions of shillings from the national government to the devolved units.
This follows complaints by governors that they are yet to receive devolved assets from the national government, despite the IGRTC being charged with working on the transfer of both movable and immovable assets.
Since the passage of the 2010 Constitution, the finalisation and transfer of assets relating to the defunct local authorities and those attached to the devolved function have remained pending for a long time.
Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds chairperson Godfrey Osotsi said the delay in the transfer of the fixed assets is turning into a huge concern, with Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu blaming counties over the non-maintenance of the fixed assets register.
Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds chairperson Godfrey Osotsi.
The Vihiga senator said the agency has done little as far as the transfers of fixed assets are concerned, only transferring some old or condemned movable assets like motorcycles, while the other valuable assets are yet to be transferred.
He asked the governors to either approach the Senate, the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council, or the Summit to ensure that all the assets for devolved functions still held by the national government are transferred.
“We are concerned about IGRTC on the transfer of assets. IGRTC is proving to be toothless on this matter. As the Council of Governors, you need to look for another way of dealing with this matter,” said the ODM Deputy Party leader.
“This committee is going to take the matter up because IGRTC has been sleeping on its job as far as the transfer of assets is concerned,” he added.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang said the Senate needs to speak to the matter in the form of a resolution, which will then become law.
Former Devolution PS Teresia Mbaika.
“We need to come up with a motion to give the National Treasury time to transfer the assets it is holding because this will continue to be an audit query for eternity,” said Mr Kisang.
“We can give them six months to act on the resolution and make sure they transfer the remaining assets due for transfer to the counties,” he added.
In May 2024, former Devolution Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika announced that the IGRTC had handed over movable assets, which initially belonged to defunct local authorities, to the county governments worth Sh3 billion.
She stated that over 8,000 movable assets spread across all 47 counties including plant, motor vehicles, and equipment, were completed in August 2023.
Motor vehicles owned by the defunct local authorities were 2,617 with 1,755 motor vehicles serviceable and 838 grounded.
They included saloon cars, lorries, vans, motorbikes, pick-ups, tractors, boats, ferries, combined harvesters, ambulances and trucks.
Ms Mbaika added that the valuation of the movable assets was already complete with the report already handed over.
The PS, however, said the valuation of fixed assets, land, and buildings is still work in progress, and plans are underway to complete the pending works.
The pieces of land owned by the defunct local authorities, which were categorised as public land, included (but not limited to) land meant for offices for municipal, town and county councils as well as those for social amenities like stadiums, recreational parks, and bus parks.
Others are for schools, slaughterhouses, market centres, health centres, access roads, game reserves and parks. The total parcels of land of the 175 defunct local authorities were 62,342.
Out of the number, 3,106 parcels had some disputes varying from irregular or illegal allocation, undefined boundaries or demarcations, grabbing and encroachment.
The buildings owned by the defunct local authorities include county and town halls and offices, social amenities such as social halls, schools, market stalls or sheds, health centres, and public toilets.
Others are slaughterhouses, bus parks, cattle dips, mortuaries, housing estates or residential units, with the total number of buildings identified, verified and validated standing at 8,461.
There were 160 buildings reported to have disputes, including illegal and irregular allocation or illegal occupation of public land.
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