Contractors, suppliers on the brink as pending bills mount to Sh177 billion
Nairobi alone owes Sh62.38 billion in long-standing bills. Yet, in the past year, City Hall piled on Sh12.6 billion in fresh arrears, compounding the problem for suppliers.
Counties across Kenya are struggling to clear bills owed to suppliers and contractors, with total pending payments now hitting Sh177 billion.
Many businesses have waited for years to be paid, forcing some to close and leaving families struggling to survive.
More To Read
- Counties lean on hospital fees to sustain operations as unpaid claims soar
- Nyakang’o blasts counties over Sh125 billion revenue arrears, calls for urgent action
- Controller of Budget pushes to list counties’ pending bills more than a year old as public debt
- Counties warned over dependence on Treasury amid untapped income streams
- Governors, MCAs spent Sh16 billion on travel in one year, says CoB Margaret Nyakang’o
- Treasury extends Pending Bills Committee term, names Ouko Anti-Money Laundering Board chair
The latest audit by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o reveals that the worst-affected counties include Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Machakos, Wajir, Nakuru, and Bungoma.
The report shows that debts older than three years account for nearly half of the total arrears, amounting to Sh85.4 billion.
Nairobi alone owes Sh62.38 billion in long-standing bills. Yet, in the past year, City Hall piled on Sh12.6 billion in fresh arrears, compounding the problem for suppliers.
Kiambu has Sh3.8 billion of its bills pending for over three years, and added another Sh2.27 billion in just one year under Governor Kimani Wamatangi.
In Mombasa, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir inherited Sh3 billion in unpaid bills and has increased the debt by Sh777.8 million.
Machakos reports Sh2.3 billion in debts older than three years out of a total of Sh6.73 billion, along with Sh2.56 billion added in the past year.
Wajir, led by Council of Governors chair Ahmed Abdullahi, has Sh1.65 billion in long-standing debts and has added more than Sh2 billion in less than a year.
Bungoma owes Sh1.09 billion from debts older than three years, nearly a third of its Sh3.6 billion total, while Nakuru struggles with over Sh1 billion still unpaid.
The audit highlights that counties accumulated Sh48.8 billion in new pending bills in the last financial year, despite legal requirements to settle eligible payments at the start of each fiscal year.
The failure to pay on time has left suppliers vulnerable, driving some into financial distress and causing business closures.
By contrast, counties such as Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho, Lamu, Makueni, Nandi, Turkana, and West Pokot show strong financial discipline, having no debts older than two years.
Top Stories Today
