Gov’t pending bills swell to Ksh.360 billion

The stock of government debt owed to the private sector has swollen again with pending bills reaching Ksh.359.5 billion at the end of June.

This to represent a significant jump in the arrears from a lower Ksh.307.8 billion at the close of March 2021.

The jump in pending bills is however against directives by the National Treasury on the prompt clearance of the arrears.

Fresh data on the national government pending bills by the National Treasury shows State Corporations continue to hold the bulk of pending bills at Ksh.323.2 billion or an equivalent 89.9 per cent of the arrears.

Meanwhile, Ministries and State Departments hold a lesser Ksh.36.4 billion of the bills.

The highest proportion of State Corporations pending bills are owed to contractors and suppliers.

Pending bills by Ministries and State Departments meanwhile consist mostly of historical pending bills as of the end of the 2020-2021 budget cycle.

The Treasury says state agencies are still furnishing it with their list of pending bills with a comprehensive report on the arrears expected in October this year.