26TH SEPTEMBER 2023
Embu Ward Representatives want the County Government to tag all fixed assets and open an inventory to avoid further loss of properties acquired using taxpayers’ funds.
A motion moved by Nominated MCA Agnes Gakungugu demanded that the County Executive implements an asset coding policy to promote accountability, transparency, and efficient management of public resources and also enable tracking of the movement and status of assets within the organisation.
She pointed out that the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 requires public entities to maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date inventory of all their assets, including fixed assets and consumable items, but the County Government had not adhered to this law.
The MCA cautioned that failure to comply with the legal requirement to code all assets could lead the county to inability to track the movement and status of assets within the organisation and inefficiencies in the management of assets, which could result in losses or misuse of public resources.
Gakungugu now wants the County Government to conduct a physical inventory of all assets to ensure that all assets are accounted for and properly labelled to prevent risk of misappropriation or theft of public resources, which could be prevented by the implementation of an effective asset coding system.
While seconding the Motion, Kagaari North MCA Mucangi Mwariama observed that the County Assembly appropriated colossal amounts of money for the purchase of computers and other supplies, but the same could not be accounted for a few months after purchase due to lack of an inventory.
His Mbeti South counterpart Murithi Kiura disclosed that land parcels bought by the previous regime to extract murram and to construct a sewage facility to manage waste water in the ward could not be traced. He also claimed that the County Government was unaware of the location of its graders.
On his part, Mavuria MCA Ngari Mbaka regretted that six tractors at the Agricultural Mechanisation Services (AMS) offices in Machang’a worth millions of shillings had disappeared without a trace following outright theft, vandalism by drivers and cannibalism for spare parts by mechanics.
Muminji MCA Newton Kariuki wondered if the County Government was aware that some county vehicles had been grounded in local garages for up to 15 years. He said lack of a motor vehicle inventory had led to overemployment of drivers while the vehicles they were meant to drive rotted away in garages.
