Government's pending bills surge by Sh104 billion in three months
Data from the National Treasury shows outstanding pending bills by the national government rose to Sh525.9 billion at the end of June, up from Sh421.6 billion in March.
Despite efforts to reduce arrears, pending government bills surged by Sh104 billion between April and June 2025, reversing months of progress in clearing verified dues.
Data from the National Treasury shows outstanding pending bills by the national government rose to Sh525.9 billion at the end of June, up from Sh421.6 billion in March.
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Previously, the arrears, mostly owed to suppliers and contractors, had fallen by Sh118 billion from Sh539.9 billion in December 2024 as the government began clearing verified dues, starting with the road sector. However, the recent increase threatens efforts to unlock billions of shillings in liquidity into the economy.
“The outstanding pending national government bills as of June 30, 2025, amounted to Sh525.9 billion. They comprise Sh404.3 billion (76.9 per cent) for State Corporations (SCs) and Sh121.6 billion (23.1 per cent) for ministries, State departments, and other government entities,” the National Treasury said.
“The SCs' pending bills include payment to contractors/projects, suppliers, unremitted statutory and other deductions, pension arrears for Local Authorities Pension Trust, and others.”
The pending bills had previously declined by Sh118.3 billion after the Treasury authorised ministries and State departments (MDAs) to pay verified arrears. By May 2025, the pending bills verification committee had cleared Sh578 billion out of the Sh663 billion submitted. Of the verified amounts, only Sh229 billion was certified for payment, including Sh80 billion for road projects.
The Kenya Roads Board (KRB) began settling verified pending bills in June using a short-term bank loan, called a bridge facility, ahead of two bonds backed by collections from the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF). KRB transferred Sh60.6 billion to road agencies, including Sh29 billion to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Sh27 billion to the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA), and Sh4.67 billion to the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA).
The Treasury told a National Assembly committee that the Cabinet had authorised KRB to allocate Sh12 of every Sh25 from the RMLF to compensate investors who purchase Sh300 billion bonds intended to clear current and future pending bills.
National Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said the exchequer had supported settlement of pending bills across the 2024/25 fiscal cycle.
“As we cross over the 2025/26 fiscal year, we have paid all counties their dues. We also did the same for CDF, all ministries, and State departments. This addresses the issue of pending bills,” Kiptoo said last week.
“This time we don’t have pending bills carried over because we managed to settle all the requests.”
Despite these interventions, the Treasury noted that deficiencies and lapses within MDAs have contributed to the fresh growth in pending bills, as ministries and departments are required to clear all expenditure carryovers from the 2024/25 financial year as a first charge.
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