Treasury makes fresh bid for public assets register

The Treasury has launched a fresh bid to create a data bank of public assets as Kenya moves to protect taxpayers from fraudulent acquisition of property by private developers.

A similar bid launched eight years ago came acropper. But now Treasury secretary Ukur Yatani has launched policy guidelines on asset and liability management to standardise handling, accounting and reporting on assets and liabilities across the public sector.

They include the immediate auditing and creation of an inventory or register of public assets. Such assets are held by National Government agencies or entities at the County government level.

Mr Yatani says the draft policy once adopted will guide the public entities in compilation of asset registers at a firms’ level for consolidation, which will inform the formation of a central repository/national registry of all assets and liabilities.

“The Government of Kenya through the Cabinet Secretary to the Treasury of Kenya has for years owned assets and incurred liabilities but there is no standardised policy or system to record the existence of assets immediately they are procured and liabilities when they are incurred,” argues Mr Yatani.

“This makes the assets and liabilities identification, valuation and eventual recognition in the financial statements/registers process laborious and time consuming and, has led to loss of assets and liabilities information.”

A further challenge brought by lack of a uniform policy on public assets, the Treasury says, is auditing of Government Assets and Liabilities, which it adds affects financial management and reporting in the public sector.

“In recognition of the challenges faced in asset and liability management, The National Treasury and Planning has developed policy guidelines on asset and liability Management to standardise management, accounting and reporting on assets and liabilities across the public sector.