Govt to Auction Police Cars

Cars at a yard awaiting auction.
An image of imported cars in a yard.
Twitter

Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has explained why the government intends to auction police vehicles.

Speaking on Monday, May 16, while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Public Accounts, Kibicho stated that the government wants to sell, not only police cars but other vehicles that are currently held in police stations across the country.

He stated that despite the government's plans to auction the cars, the state struggles to dispose of thousands of unserviceable police vehicles.

Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho appearing before national committee on Tuesday February 8, 2022
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho appearing before the national committee on Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Interior

Kibicho complained that the tedious procurement and disposal regulations have made it difficult to dispose of unserviceable government vehicles that have become a burden to the State.

“We are disposing of a lot of them. But when you go to a police station, it is not just the police cars that are there, others are accident vehicles while some are held as evidence, which you cannot dispose of,” the Interior PS stated. 

He asked the National Assembly Committee on Public Accounts to facilitate a decision and make it clear how the vehicles will be disposed noting that they have burdened police stations and taken up space needed for other projects.

“When we dispose of these motor vehicles or return them to the owners when some are being held as evidence?” he posed.

Public procurement in Kenya is governed by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015, which  "provides procedures for efficient public procurement and for assets disposal by public entities; and for connected purposes".

All state organs and public entities are required to comply with this law in regard to planning and undertaking procurement, inventory management, asset disposal and contract management.

There are exemptions where the provisions of the Public-Private Partnership Act, 2013 already apply to procurement and disposal of assets, or where procurement and disposal of assets take place under bilateral or multilateral agreements between the Government of Kenya and any other foreign government or multilateral agency.

A directional signage for an auction.
Directional signage for an auction.
File

The purpose of this law is to establish procedures for procurement and the disposal of unserviceable, obsolete or surplus stores and equipment by public entities to achieve the following objectives: to maximise economy and efficiency; to promote competition and ensure that competitors are treated fairly.

Other purposes are: to promote the integrity and fairness of those procedures, to increase transparency and accountability in those procedures; and to increase public confidence in those procedures as well as to facilitate the promotion of local industry and economic development.

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