PA & ICT report exposes 111 missing, 86 grounded/abandoned Bungoma automobiles

In summary;

• Summary of automobiles per depart.
• Outstanding repair/ storage costs
• Committee Observations
• Committee Recommendations
• Assorted Images

Word on the street indicating that the County government of Bungoma was switch number plates of official automobiles to Civilian plates let every tongue wagging as the public wondered what was the motivation behind it. As many pointed fingers at possibility of using the automobiles in the campaigns especially by goons associated with Governor Wangamati’s regime, Musikoma MCA decided to use his constitutional mandate and the Legislative arm to interrogate the matter.

Hon. George Makari of Musikoma ward on the floor of the House on 6^th October, 2021 sought the Office of the County Secretary to give response on the following concerns:

1. The list of all movable assets taken over from the Defunct Local Authorities and devolved departments with their registration numbers;
2. The list of all movable assets procured since March 2013 to date with the registration numbers;
3. The Department in which the automobiles are domiciled;
4. The current state/condition of each automobile and if in garage, state the physical address of the respective garages;
5. The drivers/operators assigned to each automobile and their personal employment numbers and terms of service;
6. The list of project vehicles handed over to the County Government and their registration numbers.

The Committee on Public Administration and ICT under the Chairmanship Khalaba MCA Hon. Majimbo Okumu was then tasked to investigate, interrogate and table a detailed statement on the floor of the house. After doing that, it indeed did table it on 22 Feb 2022. The report documents analysis of reports and verification exercises to ascertain the status of movable assets (automobiles) in the county executive from the inception of the county governments to date.

Total Number of movable assets owned by the County Executive County Executive are four hundred and seventy-five (475) automobiles (motor vehicles, motor cycles and tractors) being assets from the defunct local authorities, assets purchased by the County Government and those acquired from devolved national government departments. Other county owned equipment include farm implements and road construction machines domiciled at Mabanga Agricultural Training Centre and the Department of Public Works respectively.

Summary of automobiles per department:

Serviceable, grounded (various garages) and those automobiles whose location could not be ascertained:

Movable assets taken over from the Defunct Local Authorities and devolved and National Government departments and their condition

Forty-four (44) automobiles were handed over from the defunct local authorities and distributed to various departments

• Twenty-two of the defunct local authority automobiles were grounded
• The location of two motor cycles remains unknown.
• Out of the forty-four, only twenty were serviceable.

Two Hundred and Eighty-eight (288) automobiles were handed over by the National Government to the various departments whose mandates were fully or partially devolved

1. The County Executive purchased one hundred and forty-three (143) automobiles since 2013
2. The Committee also noted that out of the 143 automobiles procured by the County Government, one hundred and thirty-nine (139) were serviceable while three (3) were grounded, namely; KBY 870 C a Fortuner Everest, Toyota Fortuner 39 CG 017A; both domiciled in the Office of the Governor and one for Gender and Culture Department Reg. No. 39 CG 020 A that was involved in an accident and is currently in the public works yard.

Location and current condition of the automobiles

The outstanding repair and storage bills for various garages:

1. 1. Toyota Kericho           1,638,893
   2. CMC Kitale                11,219,783
   3. Terranova Autospares 2,494,946.64
   4. KERRE Auto Garage     3, 179,500
   5. Wape Garage              839,562

Total                          19, 372,684

Committee Observations

1. The committee noted that eight six (86) automobiles were grounded in various garages and yards while the location of one hundred and eleven (111) motor cycles could not be ascertained as at the time of production of this report.
2. The committee observed that the county vehicles continued to accumulate storage charges in the various garages where they were stored and retained due to non-payments of repair bills or lack of approvals for repairs. As at the time of the visit, the outstanding repair and storage bills for various garages was as follows:
   1. Toyota Kericho           1,638,893
   2. CMC Kitale                11,219,783
   3. Terranova Autospares 2,494,946.64
   4. KERRE Auto Garage   3, 179,500
   5. Wape Garage            839,562

Total                      Kshs.19, 372,684

3. The Office of the County Secretary did not disclose all the project vehicles under the custody of the various departments on completed and on-going projects. The committee was concerned about the ownership and security of the vehicles once the projects were completed since some vehicles for completed projects had not been registered under the county government.
4. The county government lacks a robust transport management unit and leadership. This was evident in the haphazard manner in which county vehicles were deposited with the garages by the drivers for repair without approvals and documentation from the relevant county departments.
5. The committee noted that most drivers did not take the responsibility of reporting accident cases to the police and the transport officer. As a result, most of the vehicles lacked police investigation reports, authority from the transport officer and Local Service Orders from the departments as authority to initiate repairs. Hence some of the garages have ended up accumulating repair bills for vehicles which could not be settled due to lack of approvals.
6. The committee observed that most of the vehicles inherited by the county Government from the defunct local authorities and devolved departments from the National Government had surpassed their economical useful life and were either grounded in various departmental yards or in garages in a vandalized state.
7. The committee noted that most of the county vehicles were repaired and serviced by jua -kali garages whose reputation and capability were questionable. In addition, the security of the county vehicles under their custody was not guaranteed.
8. The County Government lacks a structured fleet management tracking system for handling county vehicles. The committee noted that some of the automobiles; both motor vehicles and motor cycles could not be traced as their locations were unknown.
9. The committee noted that the county government has not put in place a regulatory framework to regulate the use, control, insurance, procurement, maintenance, safety and protection of government owned vehicles.
10. The Office of the County Secretary disclosed only one hundred and thirty-one drivers on permanent and pensionable terms of service. As at the time of production of the report, the committee had not ascertained the number of drivers on contract and the specific vehicles attached to each driver.
11. The committee further noted that the Office of the County Secretary did not submit list of farm implements in the Department of Agriculture and plant machineries in the Department of Public Works.

Committee Recommendations

The committee therefore recommends that:

1. The Office of the County Secretary should undertake an evaluation of all county vehicles eligible for replacement and disposal and follow the disposal procedures as stipulated in the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2015.A report on the disposal of the automobiles should be submitted to the County Assembly within sixty (60) days of adoption of this report.
2. That the Accounting Officers of the various departments to ensure that the outstanding repair and storage bills amounting to 19, 372,684 owed to the garages is appropriated as first charge during the preparation of the annual budget estimates for the FY 2022/2023.
3. The Office of the County Secretary must ensure that the county vehicles are under the custody of drivers who are employed on permanent and pensionable terms or if on contract the terms of engagement must be well stipulated. This is to ensure that the drivers take responsibility for the vehicles under their care and ensure they are well maintained and serviced. The office to further submit a detailed list of the drivers and the specific vehicle assigned to each driver within twenty-one (21) days of adoption of this report.
4. The Accounting Officers in the departments with completed and on-going projects should submit a detailed list of all the projects vehicles domiciled in the various departments within fourteen (14) days of adoption of this report; and henceforth, the accounting officers must ensure that all the completed project vehicles are registered under the county government of Bungoma within sixty (60) days upon adoption of this report.
5. The Office of the County Secretary should invest in an electronic fleet management and tracking system. This will ensure that the repairs and maintenance of each vehicle in the fleet is tracked. In addition, the information will help the management to undertake an analysis of the existing vehicles, their condition and aid in decision making for disposal or procurement of new vehicles.
6. Henceforth, the county drivers must take responsibility for the vehicles under their custody, report all accidents or any damage of vehicles to the police and the transport officer within twenty-four (24) hours and ensure the vehicle is properly serviced; failure to which the driver will be culpable for any damage caused on the vehicle due to negligence of duty.
7. That henceforth, the transport officer must review the maintenance and repair reports and any questionable expenses and unnecessary maintenance expenses submitted must be subjected to further scrutiny.
8. The County Government should establish a transport directorate and ensure it is well staffed and operational. Additionally, staff in the directorate and the county drivers should be taken for trainings on fleet management to enhance their capacity and enable them to maintain an effective fleet maintenance program and keep up to date records.
9. The County Government to ensure that prequalification is undertaken for garages with accredited capability and that county vehicles are maintained, repaired and serviced only from the authorized and prequalified dealers.
10. The County Government should equip Mteremuko vocational training Centre (VTC) which has been constructed and earmarked as a Centre of excellence for automobile training, equip it with state of the art equipment and personnel to repair all county vehicles in accordance with the provisions of Section 174(1) of the PPDA Regulations 2015 which states that “a procuring entity shall utilize its own workshop or garage to repair and maintain motor vehicles, plant and equipment.” The Centre will also act as training Centre for mechanical students hence a source of revenue for the government.
11. The Office of the County Secretary in conjunction with the Department of Public Works and Agriculture should within fourteen (14) days of adoption of this report, submit to the County Assembly a detailed list of all the plant and machinery.
12. The County Government to formulate a transport policy to regulate the usage of county vehicles and provide greater accountability of the county fleet, comprehensively operate, maintain and repair county vehicles to acceptable standards.
13. The committee takes cognizance of the provision of the PFM Act 2012 as read together with PPDA 2015 with regard to the role of Accounting Officers in asset management and recommends that henceforth, all accounting officers must ensure prudent management of all assets and liabilities under their custody.