Counties paid pending bills valued Sh34 billion over the nine months to March, amid pressure to honour payment plans they submitted in July last year, the Controller of Budget (CoB) has revealed.
By end of March, the latest CoB report notes, counties' pending bills stood at Sh172.5 billion, down from Sh181.9 billion in June 2024. Continued accumulation of unpaid bills saw counties' stock fall by Sh9.4 billion in the nine-month period, diluting the impact of the Sh34 billion payments.
“The counties with significant pending bills stock included Nairobi City at Sh115.69 billion, Kiambu (Sh5.6 billion), Machakos (Sh4.63 billion), Mombasa (Sh3.43 billion), Garissa (Sh2.62 billion), Kisii (Sh2.56 billion), Bungoma (Sh2.5 billion), Kisumu (Sh2.24 billion) and Busia (Sh2.04 billion),” the CoB notes.
Over the nine months to March, Nairobi recorded the highest payment of pending bills at Sh5.9 billion, followed by Turkana which settled pending bills valued at Sh2.69 billion.
Bungoma also settled pending bills valued Sh2 billion, Kilifi paid Sh1.47 billion bills and Kwale paid bills worth Sh1.36 billion. In total, 45 counties participated in payment of the Sh34 billion pending bills, but the 11 top counties accounted for Sh20.4 billion (59.9 percent of the pending bills paid) paid during the three quarters.
“Several county governments did not follow their plans to pay pending bills. The delays in disbursing the equitable share of revenue raised nationally, along with underperformance in own-source revenue (OSR), contributed to this lack of compliance,” CoB Nyakang’o said.
All counties submitted payment plans for their respective pending bills to the CoB in July last year, and the office has been following up on the payment since, while authorising the withdrawal of funds from county revenue funds. In the payment plans, the counties outlined the bills they would settle and indicated timeframes.
Over the nine months, other counties with huge payments included Machakos (Sh1.29 billion), Migori (Sh1.22 billion), Kiambu (Sh1.2 billion), Homa Bay (Sh1.15 billion), Kisumu (Sh1.09 billion) and Mombasa (Sh1.02 billion).
The CoB noted that despite some counties making efforts to clear debts, the payments are still insufficient.
The CoB has recommended that counties should avoid accumulating pending bills, mainly by ending the habit of making commitments towards the end of the financial year, setting realistic revenue targets and by prioritising the payment for completed activities.
“The consequences of not paying these pending bills, as reported by suppliers from various counties, are severe. They include financial distress for individual suppliers and the closure of businesses, both of which lead to reduced economic activity,” the office says.
