By November 21, 2018, the National Treasury had put state agencies on notice over a growing pile of unpaid supplier bills that had reached Sh29.3 billion by the end of financial year 2017/18.
The quarterly review said ministries, departments and agencies were to move quickly and settle the arrears, with Treasury directing that pending bills be treated as a first charge in the FY 2018/19 budget.
That warning came as pressure mounted over unpaid obligations across both levels of government. The 47 county governments were reported to owe suppliers Sh99 billion as at the end of June 2018, deepening concern among businesses already struggling with cash flow problems.
Senators said the scale of the debt raised questions about whether all the claims were genuine. Senate County Public Accounts Investment Committee chairman Moses Kajwang said part of the Sh99 billion could amount to a liability for taxpayers that was not valid, and called for a probe by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya also warned that the ballooning bills pointed to weak planning and reckless spending. ICPAK chairman Julius Mwatu said the figures showed a pattern of awarding contracts and local purchase orders without checking whether funds were available, adding that the situation was hurting businesses, private sector growth and job creation.
The Treasury position, as captured in the Quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review for the period ending September 30, 2018, was that clearing pending bills remained a government priority.
