Contractors in Garissa urge Ruto to intervene over billions in pending bills
Last year, the Controller of Budget released a report that revealed Garissa and Turkana counties have the fastest-growing unpaid bills to contractors between June and September 2024, accounting for a combined Sh9.71 billion.
Contractors in Garissa County expressed their concerns over unpaid bills by the county government asking President William Ruto to intervene.
The contractors who spoke during President Ruto's public engagement meeting held on Thursday evening at the residence of the Northeastern regional commissioner, the contractors decried that the unpaid bills that accumulated since the year 2014, have been a crisis to the sector.
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"We are suffering a lot, some of us closed our business, and some are facing challenges of debt by hardware business companies that supplied construction materials to our construction companies. We have lost hope with the county government after failing to honour several pledges. Kindly intervene," said Mohamed Muhumed who spoke on behalf of the contractors.
He said none of the contractors was willing to engage in business construction contracts with the county government due to the existing crisis of unpaid bills.
He cited cases where some of the contractors were now deceased and orphaned families were grappling with crises arising from unpaid bills.
The contractor urged the president to make a follow-up and urgently intervene to address their plight.
In December 2024, the Controller of Budget (CoB) released a report that revealed Garissa and Turkana counties have the fastest-growing unpaid bills to contractors between June and September 2024, accounting for a combined Sh9.71 billion as private sector players continued to choke from unserviced bills.
Leaders and elders from Garissa County during an engagement with President William Ruto on February 7, 2025. (Photo: PCS)
CoB revealed that the two northern frontier counties grew their pending bills by Sh5.69 billion and Sh4.02 billion respectively, as the combined unpaid bills by the 47 devolved units jumped by Sh12.03 billion in the three months.
Farmers' challenges
During the president's public engagement, the local farmers and traders in the gypsum mining sector also spoke about the challenges facing them.
Ebla Hassan, the Secretary of Garissa Farmers Network told the president that the local farmers were reduced to poverty due to unforgiving river floods that wiped out their crops every rainy season.
She explained how the farmers encountered almost Sh2.3 billion in losses during the March-May 2024 long rains floods that submerged their farm, destroying crops, farm infrastructure and farm implements washed into the river.
"Every time we organise ourselves to rebuild our destroyed livelihoods, the floods come and knock us down, to date we have no help from both levels of government," she decried.
She said farmers were promised that the Kenya Electricity Generating Company would compensate them for their losses by donating water pump engines but were yet to receive them.
For the Gypsum mining sector, Hamid Sheikh narrated how locals were affected after the county government banned gypsum mining in Garissa. He told the president many people whose livelihoods were affected by the drought were working in the sector for a living.
"This closure which is now almost two years has tremendously affected us, we are appealing to both the national and county governments to expedite lifting the ban. We are ready to fulfil the necessary conditions required," he said.
Responding to the issues raised, President Ruto promised the local contractors that their concerns would be addressed.
He said the government was concerned about huge bending bills that affected the private sector.
Ruto also assured the farmers of the government's commitment to support crop production and promote food security countrywide.
He stated how the government was constructing a mega dam in Kitui to address the perennial floods that wreaked havoc on farmers in Garissa and Tana River counties.
The president acknowledged huge potential opportunities in Northern Kenya with its vast arable land that can serve as Kenya's future breadbasket.
"The focus is shifting to northern Kenya due to its vast arable land. We will walk together to address the problem of the local farmers and invest a lot towards crop production in the region," he said.
To address the plight of the Gypsum mining sector, the president ordered Garissa leaders led by the governor, the security committee and the national mining ministry to urgently address the concerns raised.
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