Audit Reveals Inefficiency in Scrap Metal Council Due to Lack of Inspectors

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Scrap Metal Council has not been executing its mandate due to lack of inspectors, a report of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu shows.

The report for the year ended June 2022 said scrap metal dealers were consequently not vetted during the year under review.

“This was contrary to Section 29(i) of the Scrap Metal Council Act, No.1 of 2015 which requires the Cabinet Secretary to appoint such number of inspectors with adequate training in metallurgy or related field of study, and to issue certificates of authority to them to act as scrap metal inspectors, for a renewable period of three years,” the report added.

 Gathungu said the council management explained that the inspector’s appointing process was delayed by a Presidential Moratorium announced in January 2022.

The moratorium suspended all activities related to scrap metal dealing until guidelines were formulated to regulate the sector.

“Lack of inspectors negatively affects the efficient and effective performance of the council. In the circumstances, the council was in breach of the law,” Gathungu stated.

In January 2022, the government led by then-president Uhuru Kenyatta foisted a ban on exports, selling, buying, and dealings in scrap metal following high cases of vandalism of critical infrastructure, resulting in taxpayers suffering millions of shillings in losses.

The ban that was lifted months later had also been imposed to curb electricity equipment vandalism.

In one of the incidences, a breakdown at Kenya Power’s transmission line in January 2022 caused a blackout that affected customers across major cities in the country such as Nairobi.

The electricity distributor said then that the outage was caused by a collapsed tower on the Kiambere-Embakasi high voltage transmission line.

 The government sought to regulate and allow only duly registered and licensed scrap metal businesses.

The Scrap Metal Act was enacted in 2015 but is yet to take effect due to the absence of regulations to govern the scrap metal trade.

Most dealers in the sector are not licensed, making it hard for authorities to hold players accountable for losses in the country’s strategic investments.

 Courtesy: www.the-star.co.ke