The government has rolled out the handover of more assets to county governments to strengthen devolution.
Principal Secretary for Devolution Teresia Mbaika said all vehicles and machinery owned by the defunct county and municipal councils will be handed over all the 47 counties.
The handover is to implement the governors' summit resolution so that devolution is fully supported to benefit Kenyans.
"As we launch this national exercise in counties, the responsibility now rests on individual county governments to ensure that the valued assets are dated and branded by the devolved units,” she said.
She spoke in Eldoret where she presided over the handover of 158 vehicles to the Uasin Gishu government. The vehicles were formerly owned by Wareng County Council and the Municipal Council of Eldoret.
Uasin Gishu became the first county to receive the movable assets at the county yard in Eldoret.
Governor Dr Jonathan Bii said he was proud of the fact that Uasin Gishu has been chosen first.
"This is a good undertaking and we hope that we will avoid the frequent Senate queries on the assets. At first, we had a challenge with full ownership but going forward, the value for every asset will enable us to satisfy the Auditor General, and we are grateful for fast-tracking of the the process," he said.
Bii lauded the county drivers and machine operators for their good work. He said the county would continue to invest in maintenance of the vehicles and acquire more so that county staff are able to serve the public better.
Deputy Governor John Barorot said the handover would finally help to solve the issue of assets management. All the county government of Uasin Gishu assets are branded as CG027.
“We will have all our vehicles numbered in the same manner unlike the situation where we have been having some of them still bearing the green number plates used by the local authorities,” Barorot said.
