Devolved governments have received long-awaited land and buildings from the national government, ending a 12-year delay in asset transfer.

President William Ruto officially gazetted the move on Tuesday, and during the 2025 Devolution Conference in Homa Bay County yesterday, he announced that 50,000 parcels of land and 80,000 buildings had been handed over to counties.

The transfer comes after repeated criticism of the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) for slow action. Senators said they would bypass the committee and engage the government directly to ensure the remaining assets, worth hundreds of billions of shillings, are handed over following governors’ complaints.

Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds Chairperson Godfrey Osotsi said delays had become a serious concern. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu had previously noted that counties were struggling to maintain fixed asset registers.

The Vihiga senator added that the IGRTC had mostly transferred old or condemned movable assets, including vehicles and motorcycles.

Osotsi urged governors to seek help from the Senate or the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council to fast-track the transfer.

“IGRTC is proving to be toothless dog on this issue. The Council of Governors needs to look for another way of dealing with this matter,” he said.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang stressed that the Senate should address the matter through a formal resolution that compels the National Treasury to act.

“We need to come up with a motion to give the National Treasury the time to transfer the assets. If not, this be an audit query for eternity,” Kisang said. “We can give it six months to act on the resolution and ensure the remaining assets are transferred to counties.”

The asset transfer follows earlier efforts to hand over movable property.

In May last year, Devolution Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika said the IGRTC had transferred movable assets worth Sh3 billion from defunct local authorities to counties.

The assets included vehicles and machines, with 1,755 of 2,617 vehicles still serviceable.

Movable assets handed over included saloons, lorries, vans, motorbikes, pick-ups, tractors, boats, ferries, combine harvesters, and ambulances.

Mbaika said the valuation of movable assets was complete, while the assessment of fixed assets such as land meant for municipal, town, and county offices was still ongoing.