The government will clear the first batch of pending bills that have been verified in March, National Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has said.
Speaking at a media briefing, Kiptoo noted that the Pending Bill Verification Committee has received a total of 1,537 claims, amounting to Sh145.5 billion.
“The accumulated pending bills have led to reduction of profitability of enterprises by negatively impacting the value of payment due to the time variation which has led to most firms being bankrupt,” Kiptoo said.
The pending bills are said to backdate during the administration of the late President Mwai Kibaki.
The Auditor General’s report shows the total pending bills are estimated to be worth Sh800 billion.
“This menace running over the last two decades has resulted in lost opportunities for the people of Kenya, businesses and the entire economy,” Kiptoo added.
Pending Bills Verification Committee was formed following a Cabinet resolution which called for the establishment of a team to audit all bills owed by the national and county governments to ease and facilitate payment.
It is expected to begin the process of verifying all bills owed by the government to ascertain their real value ahead of payments.
At present, the government owes small businesses an accumulated figure of about Sh600 billion, according to estimates by the National Treasury.
County governments, on the other hand, owe suppliers and businesses about Sh159.9 billion as of June 2023.
The committee is expected to, among other things, examine and submit interim reports to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary upon verification of all pending bills to allow the government to honour its obligations to suppliers.
The committee will also propose a mechanism to stop future pending bills.
