The majority of top county officials of the Siaya County Government have been forced to seek other means of transport due to inability to use their official vehicles.
Consequently, due to lack of fuel, some have been forced to use their own private vehicles to run official errands, due to late disbursements of funds from the National Treasury.
This has led to inability of the county to fuel the vehicles, pushing other officials into having to use Public Service Vehicles (PSV), which are only common among citizens.
Some of the afacted officials are county ministers (CECs), as their vehicles remain grounded at the county headquarters, others due to mechanical issues and breakdowns.
This was confirmed by County Transport Officer George Obare, who noted that some of the grounded vehicles have had their insurances expired but the county cannot renew them.
"Over 75 per cent of our vehicles are not operating due to lack of fuel while others have their insurance cover expired. Some vehicles are due for service but we do not have funds," he told the Standard.
He said that some county officers have also been using the vehicles for private functions, while some drivers have been colluding with petrol stations to defraud the county.
He said that this has seen the county not get value for money for its limited finances spent on fuel, saying that some of the vehicles have been spotted ferrying funny merchandise.
"This is the major reason why we have fuel issues. Most CECs and chief officers send drivers to private errands using county vehicles to places as far as Nairobi. At night you meet those county vehicles carrying building materials, especially the double cabins," he added.
A spot check discovered that some county officers are also operating without power, apparently as a result of the same challenge.