State begins valuation of assets held by defunct local authorities

Devolution PS Julius Korir. [David Njaaga, Standard]

The Ministry of Devolution through the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) has commissioned a valuation exercise of all assets owned by the defunct local authorities.

The exercise that will be undertaken in two phases is expected to provide capacity to county governments through property ownership for effective service delivery.

Devolution Principal Secretary Julius Korir, who also chairs the steering committee on the valuation of registered assets, launched the exercise yesterday and asked all county governors to support it.

“My ministry seeks full co-operation and support of all county governors who are key drivers of the process,” he said. “This is a one-off event without the probability of repeat, and it must therefore be accorded utmost attention due to its uniqueness and importance.” Mr Korir said the transfer of the assets is aimed at securing proprietary ownership of the assets through registration to mitigate the risk of loss and enable county governments to prepare an asset register in line with the law.

Transfer of assets to county governments is dictated by both the constitution and other devolution statutes.

The assets contemplated to be transferred to counties include all those previously owned by the defunct local authorities, and which by operation of the law were automatically inherited by the succeeding county governments covering the geographical boundaries of the respective local authorities.

The assets also include those that were handed over to counties from the State relating to the performance of devolved functions. “Assets subject to this exercise include only those transferred as of March 27, 2013, and not those acquired by county governments after the said date,” Mr Korir said. The valuation exercise has been effected following the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council’s (IBEC) resolution in 2019.

This was after the completion of the identification, verification and validation process of the assets and liabilities of the defunct local authorities and devolved function.