Counties accused of paying KSh1.7bn to settle ineligible pending bills, CoB
County governments paid Sh1.7 billion to settle pending bills that had been declared ineligible according to a report by the Controller of Budget
County governments paid Sh1.7 billion to settle pending bills that had been declared ineligible according to a report by the Controller of Budget.
According to Margaret Nyakang’o, controller of the budget, the sum is a portion of the Sh107 billion that was determined to be ineligible following a special audit of outstanding debt as of June 30, 2020.
“I do not understand how and why these ineligible bills were settled,” Nyakang’o told the 19th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) on Thursday.
Pending bills that are not eligible include those that are not fully supported by the necessary paperwork, those for partial or unfulfilled deliveries of items, incomplete or unfulfilled services, and unfinished work.
In her presentation, Nyakang’o termed the status of pending bills in counties as “quite worrying.”
She pointed out that counties owed suppliers a total of Sh152.5 billion for the services and goods they provided, according to the Auditor General’s Special Report on Pending Bills.
“Of the total, Sh45.5 billion were declared eligible and Sh107 billion ineligible,” she said.
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She added that out of the eligible bills, Sh22.2 billion has been paid so far representing a total of 48.2 percent of the total.
A pending bill is an unsettled financial obligation at the end of a financial year.
It arises when an entity fails to settle invoiced amounts for goods and services properly procured and delivered or rendered.
Underperformance in revenue collection has been cited as a leading reason to budget deficits and unfunded commitments.
Nyakang’o listed Nairobi as the leading county with eligible pending bills at Sh9.6 billion.
Others are Kiambu (Sh3.3 billion), Mombasa (Sh2.3 billion), Kajiado (Sh969 million), Meru (Sh925 million), Kisumu (Sh772 million), Machakos (Sh725 million), Kericho (Sh715 million), Vihiga (Sh696 million) and Narok (Sh670 million).
The 10 counties have eligible pending bills totaling Sh20.7 billion.
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