Senators question Ottichilo over Sh1.3 billion pending bills

A Senate committee is mulling a visit to Vihiga county to physically verify projects allegedly connected to Sh1.3 billion pending bills.

The Finance and Budget committee expressed concerns over the ballooning bills that rose by Sh836 million in only one year, 2022-23.

“The right thing to do is for the committee to go to Vihiga and physically check if these projects actually exist,” committee chairman Ali Roba said.

A visit is considered as emerged that the Governor Wilber Ottichilo-led administration gave contradicting figures of pending bills incurred over the years.

Appearing before the committee to explain the bills on Thursday, Governor Ottichilo said the county executive has outstanding pending bills of Sh1.19 billion.

However, the figures differ from with the initial amount of Sh1.30 billion declared by the county.

“What exactly is the amount of pending bills because we have several figures the county government declared? They are Sh1.13 billion, Sh1.21 billion and now you are saying Sh1.19 billion,” Roba posed.

The committee is enquiring into the pending bills following a petition by Senator Godfrey Osotsi that has raised concerns about the swelling debts that were adversely affecting businesses.

The bills, he said, were mainly accumulated during the Covid-19 period.

In response, Governor Ottichilo stated that during the Covid-19 period, his administration received Sh60 million from the national government to aid in the fight against the disease.

“We were supposed to use the cash to fight the pandemic. Through consultation with the Ministry of Health and the Executive, we agreed to use the money to improve facilities, especially the ICU,” he said.

Consequently, he said, the county constructed five-bed ICU units and the contractors were paid.

The Governor said the latest figure of Sh1.19 billion was arrived at by the pending bills committee that he instituted to authenticate the bills incurred by the county.

“The auditor general came, did the audit and gave us her figures. She declared some as ineligible and others eligible, but we still had so many complaints from people. That’s why we decided to form the audit committee,” he said.

The governor said his administration had cleared the bills that were declared eligible.

But Osotsi took the governor to task to explain why, even after Covid-19, the county has continued to accumulate bills.

“It’s shocking that in 2022-23 alone, we incurred a bill of Sh836 million. Businesses are suffering. Our people are suffering, Osotsi said.

Kakemega Senator Boni Khalwale was blunt.

“Mr Governor, pay our people or we will ask you to be prosecuted. Our people are suffering because the county government owes them billions,” he said.

Committee vice chairperson and nominated Senator Maureen Mutinda asked how the county government incurred the huge bills, yet it has factored the projects into its budget.

“This is something we need to raise with the Council of Governors and tell them t counties that have accumulated such huge bills should dedicate all their own source revenue for payment of the bills,” she said.

Chairman Roba asked if the county government was fairly treating businesspeople whose contract documents cannot be traced but whose physical work can be seen.

“We cannot refuse to pay someone who has worked and what he has done can be seen, just because there are some issues with documentation. Such people must be paid,” Roba said.

Meanwhile, Governor Ottichilo protested against what he termed mistreatment of Vihiga county by the commission on Revenue Allocation in funds allocation.

“If you find Vihiga has been removed from the equalisation fund yet 70 per cent of that county is hilly rocks, [is that right?] You cannot plant anything there. Our neighbours, Kakemega, Busia and even Bungoma are getting equalisation funds. Which criteria are they using?” he asked.

He said he has written a protest letter to the Commission on Revenue Allocation.