Counties given until Friday to submit pending bills clearance plans, CoB warns
The directive is part of the World Bank-funded Kenya Devolution Support Program (KDSP) II, which has imposed strict conditions on counties to reduce debts to businesses.
The Controller of Budget (CoB) has given county governments until Friday, August 15, 2025, to submit their pending bills clearance plans, as pressure mounts from the World Bank to settle debts owed to businesses.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o directed county executives and assemblies to submit their settlement plans for the current financial year by the deadline, noting that her office would monitor their compliance throughout the year.
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The directive is part of the World Bank-funded Kenya Devolution Support Program (KDSP) II, which has imposed strict conditions on counties to reduce debts to businesses.
By the end of March, counties had accumulated pending bills worth Sh172.51 billion, with 98.5 per cent of the debt owed by county executive departments.
“Based on the foregoing, the purpose of this circular is to request the county governments to commence implementation on the above pending bills’ action plan to progressively reduce the stock of pending bills. This is a mandatory requirement for FY 2025/26,” Nyakang’o said in a circular dated July 16.
“The completed action plans should be submitted to the OCoB by 15th August, 2025 for regular follow-up throughout the financial year.”
Kenya has secured a Sh25.8 billion ($200 million) loan from the World Bank under KDSP II to, among other objectives, develop standardised pending bills action plan templates for county governments.
The OCoB has developed three templates, one capturing a county’s total verified pending bills at the start of a financial year, another detailing the pending bills payment plan for that year, and a third for quarterly progress reporting.
“In furtherance of its mandate, the OCoB received support under the KDSP II to develop the Pending Bills Action Plan Templates for County Governments,” Nyakang’o said.
“Accordingly, the Pending Bills Action Plan Templates were developed in consultation with a multi-agency technical team and approved by the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council during the 27th Ordinary Session on June 23, 2025.”
The World Bank has set minimum thresholds for counties to access its funds, including the requirement to publish a list of verified pending bills on their websites.
“Minimum conditions, county government has verified stock of commitments and pending bills and disclosed this on their website,” the lender’s Environmental and Social System Assessment states.
The funding aims to address the persistent challenge of delayed payments by counties and reduce the high stock of pending bills.
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