Nairobi, Garissa and Kiambu top counties' pending bills nightmare

Photo credit: Stanslaus Manthi | Nation Media Group

Some 30 out of 47 counties recorded pending bills above the Sh1 billion mark in FY 2023/24 compared to just 22 in 2022/23, this accounts for about 63.8 percent of the counties.

Office of Controller of Budget (OCOB) report shows that these devolved units owe suppliers and contractors Sh185.46 billion accounting for 95.6 percent of the entire counties’ pending bills.

Data from OCOB reveals that Nairobi City County Executive shelved the bulk of outstanding pending bills amounting to Sh121.06 billion representing 62 percent of the total counties’ pending bills.

Other counties with huge pending bills include Garissa at Sh6.07 billion, Kiambu (Sh5.9 billion), Turkana (Sh4.78 billion), Machakos (Sh4.42 billion) and Mombasa (Sh3.93 billion).

These counties have wreaked havoc and frustrations to individuals and businesses that had mobilised resources and some taken loans to transact with them as suppliers or contractors. These counties are at the core of counties’ pending bills nightmare.

As a result, the increasing stock of pending bills poses a big challenge to the delivery of services in counties as it may disrupt business operations. Thus, it is crucial for county governments to prioritise settling eligible pending bills.

The senate in a letter dated 9 May 2024 resolved that counties must settle all the verified pending bills that were less than Sh1 billion by the end of FY 2023/24. Additionally, pending bills that were more than Sh1 billion were to be settled by the end of FY2024/25.

Notably, the Office of Controller of Budget recommended that, “The county governments prioritise all the eligible pending bills in the budget as a first charge according to Regulation 55(2) (b) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015. Also, we request the County Governments to adhere to the Senate resolution communicated through their 9 May 2024 letter, mandating that all verified pending bills to be cleared by FY 2024/25.”

Generally, as of September 30, 2024, the counties outstanding pending bills comprise Sh149.50 billion in recurrent expenditure and Sh44.51 billion in development expenditure.

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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.