Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has asked the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget to summon the leadership of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to account for Sh15 billion in pending bills.
During his appearance before the committee, Governor Sakaja suggested that the national government's executive office is best suited to update the progress on these bills.
"The accounting officer of NMS is not the Nairobi County government. The best person to account for the pending bills is the NMS leadership," Sakaja said.
In January, Sakaja said pending bills from the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services were to be moved to the Office of the President.
"What we agreed during the summit of the council of governors and the President was that all those pending NMS projects are domiciled under the executive order of the presidency, where NMS was domiciled," he told the Star.
There are about 8 pending NMS projects which have not been completed.
Sakaja noted that the Office of the President will be the one to pay for and complete the projects.
NMS was retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s flagship project to upgrade the capital city after years of neglect by previous regimes.
Initiatives initiated by Uhuru under NMS, including health centres, water, sewer lines, and street lighting, have consumed billions.
On Thursday, the Senate committee gave Governor Sakaja 14 days to provide a written report on NMS's pending bills and projects worth 15.4 billion shillings.
Senators expressed concerns about the concentration of benefits among a few companies in NMS tenders.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna described the tenders as questionable adding that they should be investigated for possibly siphoning public money.
Committee Chairman Ali Roba has asked Governor Sakaja to provide documentation on NMS transactions to clarify whether the companies performed any work and if they should be paid.
Governor Sakaja has invited the Auditor General’s office to audit NMS and the services rendered.
Senators have also requested more information on pending projects and bills and might summon the executive office of the President for further explanations.