Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro has given until the end of this week for those still holding vehicles released back to the county government by contractors to return them. If they fail to do so, then they will be arrested.
The Governor spoke when he visited the Kilifi County Police headquarters on Wednesday afternoon to inspect some vehicles that had been impounded by police after they were found in the hands of individuals yet they are supposed to be in the custody of the county government. The vehicles including six pickup trucks were released back to the county government after contractors completed their projects. Unfortunately, the vehicles ended up in the hands of individuals, mostly county senior employees who used them as personal properties.
“Most of the vehicles here are still in good shape and only need some minor repairs. I have been informed that there are still two more vehicles still in the hands of an individual. I need those vehicles back to the county garage before the Flore of business tomorrow, ” he told the county officer in charge of transport.
Governor Mung’aro said such vehicles once in operation, would address the lack of vehicles that has affected several departments, hence affecting service delivery.
“I know most of these vehicles had been used by politicians in campaigns which is illegal. Let those still with the individuals returned immediately so that they can be assigned duties by the county government,” he said.
Mr. Mung’aro who was on a familiarisation tour of different county departments also toured the county treasury and held a brief talk with the acting Finance Executive Maureen Mwangovya, and other senior county officials. He promised to digitize most services in the departments, more so starting with revenue collection, which he said was a key area of concern in terms of revenue.
“When I was campaigning, one of the key areas of concern was the revenue collection. This sector has a lot of leaks that had affected revenue collection, hindering the county from achieving its revenue collection threshold. We now plan to digitize the department and more so all the departments to have a seamless service delivery to our people,” the governor said.
Governor Mung’aro who was accompanied by his Deputy Flora Chibule and County Secretary Arnold Mkare also toured the County scholarship fund offices to familiarise himself with the bursary and scholarship program the devolved government has been undertaking since 2014.
While touring the county garage at the junction of hospital street and biashara street, he came face to face with grounded vehicles, most of whom are in a state of disrepair, and asked that such vehicles must be auctioned with immediate effect.
“There are many county vehicles I found grounded in different garages across the country. Kindly get their records and those that the county is unable to repair then they should be auctioned instead of them being a liability to the county government. We can’t have a vehicle that can fetch a good price at this moment, leave it to rot, and then sell it at a loss. Those governments purchased by the county government since 2014 and can’t render services again should be auctioned,” he said.
Governor Mung’aro also warned those who had grabbed public land, especially within Kilifi town that it will be returned back to the public soon.
“We have a problem of expanding county programs because some of the lands had been grabbed by individuals. We know them and we shall come for them. We shall not spare any grabbed public land but we shall take it back. So those who thought that we never knew their plans, lest they warned that we shall take the land back to the public,” he said.
The governor said among his plan is to build county government offices that will house all departments as one-stop entities, a shift from the current scenario where county government offices are scattered almost everywhere in Kilifi town.
“Seeking services within the county government has become a nightmare because offices are in different places. But in my plans, I want to build county headquarters that will feature all the departments so that Kenyans can be able to access the services at a one stop facility,” he added.
