According to the latest Controller of Budget (CoB) data, the National Government’s pending bills reduced by Kes 106.6 billion to Kes 516.27 billion in the full year ending June 30, 2024.
The drop was attributed to the recent state’s initiative to clear outstanding debt.
Further, the data shows that the country’s debt to various entities and individuals stood at Kes 622.82 billion as of June 30, 2023.
The arrears are distributed across various entities, including state corporations, which owe suppliers Kes 379.81 billion, followed by ministries, departments, and agencies (Kes 136.45 billion).
In a similar period last year, suppliers and contractors owed corporations Kes 443.6 billion, whereas MDAs owed Kes 179.22 billion.
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“MDAs’ pending bills are mainly historical pending bills comprising Ks 100.73 billion (74 per cent) for recurrent expenditure and Kes 35.72 billion (26 per cent) for development expenditure,” reads te report in part.
“In FY 2023/24, MDAs pending bills declined by Kes 42.18 billion, comprising Kshs.30.81 billion for recurrent and Kes 11.37 billion for development expenditure.”
“The State Corporations’ pending bills include payments due to contractors/projects, suppliers, unremitted statutory and other deductions, and pension arrears for Local Authorities Pension Trust. The highest percentage of the State Corporations’ pending bills (Kes 235.00 billion as of 30th June 2024) was for Contractors/Projects at 62 per cent followed by Pension Arears at 13 per cent.”
In June last year, the Cabinet approved a Pending Bills Verification Committee to audit the government’s uncleared bills between June 2005 and 2022.
Last month, the National Treasury started receiving pending bills and claim submissions from the public to clear outstanding government arrears.
As of January 31, 2024, 1,537 companies had submitted unpaid pending bill requests to the state worth KES 145.5 billion, which were distributed to 38 MDAs.
