Uhuru Administration Leaves Behind Billions In Pending Bills
According to current National Treasury figures, the outgoing Jubilee government administration is expected to leave behind Ksh. 504.7 billion in outstanding national government obligations.
The exchequer reports that the national government’s outstanding debt increased by 40.4 percent from Ksh. 359.5 billion at the end of June 2021 to the fiscal year ending in June 2022.
A total of Ksh. 488.6 billion, or 88.9% of the bills, are paid to State Corporations; the remaining Ksh. 56.1 billion are maintained by Ministries, State Departments, and other state organizations.
The unpaid invoices of State Corporations include arrears to contractors, suppliers, unremitted statutory and non-statutory deductions, and pension arrears.
The State Corporation’s unpaid invoices are made up of 65,5% contractor/projects and supplier obligations.
The majority of the invoices retained by Ministries and State Departments are historical pending debts that have gone unpaid for the last two years.
The number of national pending bills is rising despite a long-standing national government strategy to clear them.
Ministries and State Departments must pay unpaid invoices in the order of priority, with arrears being the first charge in the new 2022–23 budget implementation.