Asset management digitized to curb resource misuse

CHRIS MAHANDARA-KNA

The Government has rolled out the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) asset and inventory module to counties as part of a nationwide push to digitize public assets and strengthen accountability in resource management.

Public Investments and Assets Management Principal Secretary (PS) Cyrell Odede said the move is aimed at ensuring accurate asset registers, uniform reporting standards, and improved safeguarding of public resources.

“This is not just a technical upgrade. It is a fundamental shift towards greater accuracy, enhanced safeguarding of public resources, and uniform reporting standards across the public sector,” he said.

Speaking in Kisumu during the conclusion of a week-long sensitization workshop for county officers from Migori, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Busia, Kisumu, Nyamira, and Siaya, the PS directed counties to urgently submit the names of their official IFMIS users for mapping into the system. 

He further asked the devolved units to fast-track documentation such as title deeds for public assets, and embrace innovative revenue-generating strategies including leveraging roads for advertising.

“Public assets should not lie dormant. They must be leveraged to generate revenue for service delivery,” he said.

The PS said the Government had already implemented the IFMIS fixed asset module in 2023/24, with all state departments uploading their asset data.

County governments, he said, were now expected to replicate the same commitment to ensure the new measures are applied across the two levels of government.

He added that all public entities were required to transition from cash to accrual-based accounting by the year 2027, a shift that makes accurate digital asset registers more urgent.